Aurora Energy’s annual report for the last financial year shows a lot of progress, CEO Dr Richard Fletcher says.

“Aurora Energy has come a long way since it was established as a stand-alone business in 2017 and we’ve been working hard to deliver on our investment promises and improve our responsiveness and service to our customers,” Richard said.

The company supplies electricity to homes, farms and businesses in Queenstown Lakes and across Otago.

In recent years it has been accused of under-investing in its asset maintenance and renewal programme, leading to a deteriorating network of poles, cables and transformers, and it has also been subject to Commerce Commission proceedings against Aurora Energy for breaching regulated quality standards. 

“Last year, Aurora Energy invested $96.3 million in renewing, maintaining and building our network, which is $25 million more than the previous year,” Richard said. “We also progressed a number of major projects to upgrade the electricity network in Dunedin, Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes.”

In March 2021, the Commerce Commission approved the company’s five-year investment plan (customised price-quality path or CPP), which provided Aurora Energy with future revenue certainty, he said. 

That plan includes substantial price hikes for customers, with higher prices in Central Otago and Wānaka which the company said was attributable to the large geographic area combined with relatively low customer density.

“Our job now is to ensure we deliver the network improvements on time, invest efficiently and deliver for our customers,” Richard said.

Aurora’s annual report also outlines the company’s greenhouse gas emissions as part of the company’s wider sustainability planning for the first time.

Richard said minimising the impact of Aurora Energy’s environmental footprint is important and sustainability is now a core focus for the business.

“Now and into the future, we see the electricity network as central to supporting our communities’ changing energy needs as they opt for more environmentally-friendly options,” he said.

“As the uptake of new technology and electrification increases, so will the need to have a reliable network. In the Otago context, where 100 percent of our energy is renewable, we are dedicated to enabling a more sustainable future,” he said.

PHOTO: Wānaka App