Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) distribution company Powerco is the first to introduce low-voltage battery energy storage systems (BESS) into the country.
Aimed at supporting consumers during peak electricity use times, Powerco is starting a trial on five power poles in the North Island community of Tauranga.
Located in the suburb of Greerton, 220 kilometres southeast of Auckland, the neighbourhood has had intensive in-fill housing, resulting in there being more houses than the electricity network was originally designed for.
Powerco General Manager Electricity Karen Frew said the chargeable batteries are an innovative way of supplying the neighbourhood at peak electricity use times.
“We’re the first electricity distribution company to use this innovative technology in New Zealand. It’s used successfully in Australia,” Frew said.
“However, as they are new equipment on our network, we’ll be monitoring their performance to ensure they are helping supply enough power during peak demand in the neighbourhood.”
Bidirectional power flows

Image: Powerco
While the BESS units in Greerton are specifically designed to help with electricity supply during peak times in the suburb, Powerco is preparing for the future of electricity with BESS units integral as the company moves towards being a distribution system operator (DSO).
Powerco DSO Programme Director Ryno Verster said the future will see widespread bidirectional power flows.
“This is where electricity flow isn’t one way – from power lines to customers. Instead, homes and businesses will produce their own renewable electricity via the likes of solar panels on their roof, use it and feed what’s not used back into the electricity network,” Verster said.
“This way of distributing electricity and supporting communities is the future of electricity. Customers generating power via the sun can, rather than wasting or storing production in batteries in their homes, which is unattainable for many, store excess energy on the network,” Verster said.
“Here, it will be ready to sustainably top-up local homes and businesses’ power when it’s needed,” he said.
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“Powerco is starting a trial on five power poles in the North Island community of Tauranga.”
Tauranga is not a small community like a rural primary school and local shop kind of thing, or, in the case of Australia, a pub/roadhouse combination, or, a village or town.
Tauranga is a city – apparently, the fifth largest city in New Zealand, not some remote and obscure, inland community, and, should be mentioned as a city, recognising its status.
“Tauranga is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of 162,800 (June 2024).”
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tauranga .
As for the pole batteries (lightning rods), household behind the meter batteries with appropriate backup hardware and management systems, are far more effective, and, a far better investment, and, household behind the meter batteries with appropriate backup hardware and configuration, are not as vulnerable to electricity grid failures that occur when physical damage to the grid lines occurs, and, provide protection of the power supply, when grid outages,. including scheduled and non-scheduled, outages occur.