Engineering and technology awards recognise solutions to complex challengesSponsored
Transpower’s 2024 Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards were awarded on Tuesday 15 October and recognise the incredible collaborative innovation happening in our country to find engineering solutions to complex challenges.
These awards were open to teams and individuals working in the electricity transmission sector, across the country.
This is the second time the biennial awards have been presented, with the inaugural awards presented in 2022.
There are six award categories and an overall supreme winner. The categories are:
- Engineering by design – A team, individual or organisation that has demonstrated best practice engineering and technology by design.
- Investment in our industry future – A team, individual or organisation that has or is making a significant investment in the engineering and technology future of our industry.
- Collaboration – A collaboration that results in an improved outcome, innovation or growth of our engineering and technology capability.
- Sustainability – An engineering or technology initiative or innovation that has or will provide long-term positive impacts on the environment.
- Value engineering – An engineering or technology project, initiative, innovation or strategy that demonstrates the greatest whole of life net benefits and ROI.
- Complex and challenging – A complex engineering or technology challenge resolved in an elegant and straightforward manner.
Then finalists from each of the categories can be viewed on the Transpower website.
The 2024 Supreme winner is selected from the winners of the other six categories and acknowledges the entry which demonstrates transformational change through engineering and technology excellence to produce the greatest possible outcomes overall. For 2024 the Supreme winner is the Transpower team who successfully developed a method to ensure that electricity sold on the market was priced in real time.
New Zealand’s previous electricity market design had a two-day delay in spot prices, hindering real-time decision-making and efficient market operations. The Real Time Pricing (RTP) project aimed to provide real-time price certainty, requiring significant engineering efforts for real-time data processing and modernising legacy software.
Real Time Pricing delivers real-time spot prices every half hour, enhancing decision-making, participation, renewable energy integration, and demand management. It improves price accuracy, reduces volatility, and drives innovation.
Implemented by the Electricity Authority, Transpower, and NZX, Real Time Pricing supports energy optimisation, distributed energy resource (DER) integration, and a shift to a low-emissions economy, ensuring efficient energy management.
The team that worked on this project also won the ‘Investment in our industry future’ category.
The judges said: “Real Time Pricing is a game changer for the wholesale electricity market. The shift from a two-day delay to spot pricing every 30 minutes brings in the demand side of the market, providing real price sensitivity. A truly complex project, demonstrating excellence in large and complex software engineering implementation resulting in transparency that has a profound positive influence and benefits for NZ Inc both for today and the future.“
Other categories and their winners are:
‘Engineering by design’ – AECOM
Digital substation protection & automation hardware design
The development of digital ‘process bus’ substations required a thorough re-evaluation of protection and automation hardware, which had impacts on design, installation, testing, maintenance, and operations. This project focused on re-designing systems for a greenfield digital substation, allowed for a review of existing designs and aimed to enhance efficiency.
The judges said: “AECOM’s work provides significant resilience benefits through less cable, ducts, copper and building, and reduced risk of fire. A high degree of standardisation that allows flexibility to target each substation’s need at the same time. It was great to see stakeholders and cost benefit analysis considered at every stage. This work looked beyond the norm, resulting in far reaching impacts on the future grid.”
‘Collaboration’ – Beca
Redclyffe Cyclone Gabrielle protection and automation response
In February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle hit New Zealand’s North Island, severely affecting Hawke’s Bay. A National Civil Defence Emergency was declared. Transpower, Ventia, Beca, and other services partners worked to restore and enhance the region’s power system. They repurposed a building for temporary relay equipment and rapidly deployed new protection schemes. Despite the challenges, their collaborative efforts quickly restored resilience to the Redclyffe protection systems, minimising disruption. The response led to innovations and process improvements, illustrating the value of effective teamwork and engineering ingenuity. This outcome is recognised in a joint award nomination by Ventia, Beca, and Transpower.
The judges said: “The nomination provided an excellent example of collaboration, it didn’t matter who you worked for, or the job you do, everyone got stuck in. The team were always ahead of the game and never in a position of failing to meet demand. This is a true testament to the culture of collaboration between Beca, Ventia, Transpower and other services partners in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.”
‘Sustainability’ – Transpower
Moving towards zero waste recycling glass insulators
The 2020 Sustainability Strategy identified recyclable assets like glass insulators, which comprise 17 per cent of Transpower’s waste. The glass insulator recycling initiative diverts 127 tonnes of insulators from landfill annually, helping Transpower reach its goal of reducing landfilled waste by 30 per cent by 2030 and cutting disposal costs by 30 per cent. Challenges included assessing the recyclability of hardened glass, processing practicality, and identifying a recycling partner. The scheme minimises impact on field operations and repurposes materials, with recycled glass used in products like glass wool insulation, enhancing energy efficiency in homes and businesses.
The judges said: “An excellent example of a circular economy. This work really stands out. Its elegance is in its simplicity resulting in a positive environmental impact, a true example of work that strikes at the core of what sustainability really means.”
‘Value engineering’ – Transpower
An improved tower painting economic model using machine learning
Transpower spends $50 million annually on painting to mitigate corrosion of its 24,000 steel towers. An ageing fleet made future costs non-viable, prompting the development of a more accurate Tower Painting Cost model using machine learning (ML). This model identifies complex patterns to improve forecast accuracy, potentially saving $20-40 million over 10 years. It optimises painting schedules, extends tower life, and minimises environmental impacts. The ML model improved first paint forecasts by 73 per cent and recoat forecasts by 58 per cent. This project introduced new capabilities within Transpower, including the first in-house automated ML model and production pipeline, requiring multidisciplinary collaboration.
The judges said: “Facing a large portfolio spend on the aging fleet, the team managed to more than halve the cost of the portfolio. A demonstration of excellence in risk-based assessment, use of predictive analysis, and innovation. A real stand out, producing a profound change to operations, and a way of working which is reusable for a number of other cases.”
‘Complex and challenging’ – Transpower
Cyclone Gabrielle Response restoring power to 225,000 customers through collaboration and innovative solutions
Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the Hawke’s Bay region, leaving 225,000 residents without power and damaging electricity infrastructure. The most critical was at Transpower’s Redclyffe substation where floodwaters rose to 1.5m, severing connections to the National Grid. Transpower’s Operational Engineering team faced challenges due to lack of information, blocked roads, and no cell-phone coverage. Despite this, they restored 100MW of power within three days, lifting regional morale. Solutions included establishing a 220kV connection from Tauhara to Whakatu, reviving Redclyffe with a 110kV connection from Tuai, creating a 33kV tie, and commissioning an interconnector. Their innovative, collaborative work showcased commitment to delivery and effective problem-solving under pressure.
The judges said: “Four enabling projects implemented with ingenuity. The commitment to restoring power swiftly and safely had a significant impact on the affected communities. Three days after the initial flood, and two days after establishing ground and communications with the service providers on-site, 100MW of power was restored. A fantastic illustration of excellence in a complex and challenging situation.”
The 2024 judging panel
Our independent panel of judges for the 2024 Engineering and Technology Excellence Awards understand what it takes, and the difference it makes, to think outside the box. They are part of our awards process to ensure a fair and impartial process. The judges reviewed all nominations and selected winning nominations that demonstrate excellence and delivery of outstanding solutions that empower our energy future.
The judges thanked everyone who took the time to enter, “it was an incredible honour and a pleasure to review this year’s nominations. It was a real joy to see the complex and challenging work our sector does and the innovative, collaborative, sustainable approach taken to achieve real and significant outcomes for NZ Inc. The commitment and incredible talent of those involved is evident and we look forward to seeing more of your great work in 2026. Congratulations to all!”
Dr Keith Turner – Transpower Board of Directors chair
Dr Turner has 55 years’ experience in the electricity industry, having held senior executive positions over 40 years in Meridian Energy (CEO), the former Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (COO), and its predecessor NZED.
Since 2008, he has been a professional chair, deputy chair and director on major New Zealand and Australian Boards including Auckland International Airport, Chorus NZ, Spark Infrastructure and its three asset companies (South Australia Power Networks, Victoria Power Networks and TransGrid in NSW) and Fisher & Paykel.
In 2018, he was appointed as a member of the Interim Climate Change Committee by the New Zealand Government, which began crucial work on how Aotearoa transitions to a net zero carbon economy by 2050. He has a PhD in engineering, is a Distinguished Fellow of EngNZ and holds the Sir William Pickering Medal for Engineering Leadership.
Michael O’Donnell (MOD)
MOD is a professional director, writer and advisor with a focus on digital, media and growth companies. He is chair of the craft brewing company Garage Project, deputy chair of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, chair of online global music company Serato and also a director of Radio New Zealand, PaySauce, realestate.co.nz and Sandfield Software. MOD writes the weekend business column for Stuff Media and is host of the TVNZ series Start Up.
MOD previously held CEO/COO/CMO positions with Trade Me, Vwork, G2G and AMP Capital. He's also a passionate motorcyclist and has biked the Silk Road, the North American Arctic and Southeast Asia.
Priti Ambani
Country Head, New Zealand at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Ms Priti Ambani is the Country Head, New Zealand at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a global leader in digital, IT and business services. With a background in environmental engineering, she has lived and worked across the USA, Asia Pacific and Europe, bringing a cross-industry focus to leverage emerging technologies with business model innovation. She has helped organisations harness the power of networks, platform and crowd powered models to solve business, social and environmental challenges. Ms Ambani was one of the key contributors to the development of the Digital Sustainability Index, a metric that measures how organisations are leveraging technology to drive sustainable outcomes – a collaboration between TCS and the University of Auckland. Ms Ambani sits on the Board of the Auckland Business Chamber and is an advisor to the Strategic CIO programme at the University of Auckland.