The way Wellington uses electricity is changing. More homes, businesses and transport are expected to rely on electricity in the years ahead, as the region responds to climate change and reduces its use of fossil fuels. At the same time, parts of the equipment that have served the region for decades will increasingly need to be renewed.

We are at an important juncture in our planning. Several pressures are converging, including more frequent and severe storms, more houses and businesses are moving away from gas, and there is increasing interest in electric vehicles, batteries and solar. These changes mean the network will need to carry more electricity, support new technology, and remain reliable in more challenging conditions.

Got two minutes? Please read the full details here - and tell us what matters most to you in our survey.

The network we provide across Wellington City, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua has a strong track record as one of New Zealand’s most reliable and affordable electricity networks. For the past 15 years, it has consistently ranked among New Zealand's top three networks for lowest lines charges, and lowest rates of outages. But it was largely built for the needs of the past. We now need to plan carefully for the investment required to keep the network safe, reliable and ready for the future, while managing the impact on customer bills.

Doing nothing is not a realistic option. Without additional investment, reliability is expected to decline as equipment ages and failures become more common, increasing the risk of more frequent power interruptions across the network. Waiting longer would also make future replacement costs higher and lead to greater disruption for customers, and we do not want to compromise on safety.

Ultimately, we need to keep this upgrade work affordable so people can keep the lights on, homes warm and meals cooked. That is why we have planned to deliver the work over an extended timeline: prioritising the highest-impact investment first, while safely phasing lower-priority work into later stages.

To support this future investment we are now applying to the Commerce Commission for a Customised Price-Quality Path, known as a CPP. This is a regulatory process that allows an electricity distribution business to seek investment and service quality settings that better reflect the needs of its network and customers. Our proposal will be independently reviewed, and the Commission will assess our proposal and decide if they will approve it. If they approve it, the plans will come into effect on the 1st April 2028.

Before we finalise our proposed plan, we want to hear from you. Your feedback will help us understand what matters most to customers, including reliability, resilience, future capacity, affordability, planned works, storm readiness, and the role of smarter technology and more flexible electricity use. We are consulting in several ways so people can take part in a way that works for them. This includes an online survey, conversations with customers and community groups, meetings with key organisations and direct discussions with people who may be more affected by changes to electricity prices, reliability or future network work. We want to hear a wide range of views, from households and businesses through to iwi, councils, emergency services, infrastructure providers and community organisations across the region.

We are consulting in several ways so people can take part in a way that works for them. This includes an online survey, conversations with customers and community groups, meetings with key organisations and direct discussions with people who may be more affected by changes to electricity prices, reliability or future network work. We want to hear a wide range of views, from households and businesses through to iwi, councils, emergency services, infrastructure providers and community organisations across the region.

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The investment also creates opportunities to deliver wider benefits for the region. By coordinating work with councils and other infrastructure providers, for example through co-digging and shared works planning, we can reduce costs and minimise disruption for communities. Stronger data and network insights will also help us improve customer service, including clearer outage notifications, better restoration information and more transparency about the costs of the work. This would also include planning for a more automated network that can support decarbonisation and manage new patterns of energy use, such as solar, batteries and electric vehicles connecting in different places and at different times. As ageing assets are renewed, we can increase network capacity where it is needed most, supporting new homes, businesses, transport and technology. And by establishing a long-term, large-scale work programme for the city and wider region, we can create employment opportunities, support local suppliers and build enduring capability that stays in the region.

This is not about asking customers to approve a finished proposal. It is about listening before the plan is finalised. The feedback we receive will help us test options, understand customer priorities, and shape the evidence we provide to the Commerce Commission. Our consultation efforts and how we amend the plan based on the feedback will also be reviewed and considered alongside technical evidence before we finalise our application. We encourage you to take part because decisions made now will affect the network, prices and reliability for many years. Acting now gives the region more choices. Waiting until issues become urgent could mean higher long-term costs, more disruption and fewer options in the future.

Got two minutes? Please tell us what matters most to you in our survey.

To read more about the proposed plan, visit https://www.welectricity.co.nz/smarterpower/power-choices/our-plan-for-the-future.

To learn more about the consultation process, visit https://www.welectricity.co.nz/smarterpower/power-choices/the-consultation-process.