■ The Eastern Bay of Plenty is deep in an economic transformation. From aquaculture growth in Ōpōtiki, Kawerau industrial developments, the steady rise of our kiwifruit orchards, to increased developments in Whakatāne – the energy is palpable, writes Ajay Anand, Horizon Energy Group chief executive

Horizon Networks’ job of delivering the critical infrastructure that powers our region has never been more important. To deliver an efficient, sustainable, reliable, and resilient network that meets our needs, Horizon Networks is embarking on a $225 million investment plan over the next decade.

Our proposed investment will provide a strong platform to support sustainable and resilient growth of our region.

It’s a job I, and everyone at Horizon Networks, take seriously because we’re not just an infrastructure company.

Part of Horizon Energy Group and owned by Trust Horizon, we’re 100 percent local.

Our success isn't measured in dividends to overseas shareholders, but in the reliability of the services that you receive from us and we are proud to be the catalyst that is driving our local economy.

We’re at a juncture that will shape our direction forward. As our region grows and changes, our energy use is also growing and changing.

By 2035, we’re expecting demand on parts of our network to increase by 50 percent.

Homeowners and businesses are increasingly looking for more cost-effective and sustainable ways to meet their energy needs.

We are committed to providing the community with a resilient grid that stands up to the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather. We’re also focussed on ensuring long-term energy resilience, capacity to support growth, and capability to support electrification.

This isn’'t a nice-to-have wish-list, but a critical blueprint to ensure the Eastern Bay has the room to grow, while investing in the right infrastructure at the right time.

The first major milestone of this journey is in Ōpōtiki.

There’s been a major investment in the local aquaculture and kiwifruit industry, which are big local employers.

However, our current sub-transmission system – the connection between high-voltage transmission lines and local distribution network – in Ōpōtiki is reaching its limit.

To keep supporting the forecast growth, we’re investing $14.3 million upgrading Ōpōtiki’s supply from 11kV to 33kV.

This work will improve the quality of supply and provide the required capacity to support local economic growth and housing development for the coming decades.

We know that any investment in infrastructure must be balanced with what our community can afford to pay.

I’m often asked this question – the difficult balance between energy security, sustainability, and affordability.

It’s a genuine challenge. We know that many in our community are already feeling the cost of living.

The Commerce Commission regulates electricity distribution businesses like Horizon Networks to ensure that the costs that we charge are consistent with competitive markets.

To fund the essential Ōpōtiki upgrade, we have submitted a proposal to the Commerce Commission for a pricing adjustment. We haven’t made the decision to seek a price adjustment lightly.

The Commerce Commission will be undertaking a consultation on Horizon Network’s application in due course, and we encourage you to provide feedback.

If our proposal to the Commerce Commission is approved, the investment required for the Ōpōtiki upgrade would cost the average household across the Eastern Bay of Plenty approximately $3 to $4 a month.

For this contribution, we build a network that’s more resilient to storms, more capable of supporting new technologies, and strong enough to power our economy.

We have the plan, we have the local expertise, and we have the commitment.

The infrastructure we build today will power our region’s success stories for decades to come.