WEL Networks Limited is an

electricity distribution Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissi ...

company, serving the northern and central

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, t ...

region of New Zealand. WEL is the fifth largest electricity distribution companies in New Zealand, with over 80,000 connections and 5,226 km of lines. WEL was formed when

Legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

in 1988 amalgamated the Central Waikato Electric Power Board with Hamilton City Council's Electricity Division from 1989 to form Waikato Electricity Limited. After amalgamation, ownership of WEL was vested in the Waikato Electricity Authority (WEA). WEA formed WEL Energy Trust in 1993, with the first election in June, so that the community could have some ownership of WEL. In 1992 a third of WEL was sold to Utilicorp for almost $40m, a third retained for the Trust and a third given to customers. The Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998 forced WEL to sell its retail business. It sold to the State owned (but later bought as NGC by

Vector Limited Vector Limited is an electricity and gas distribution company in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the national number one provider of electricity distribution, number one provider of electricity and gas metering and number two wholesaler of LPG. ...

) Natural Gas Corporation for $89.9m. The Trust then bought back all WEL's shares to become its sole owner. In 2001 WEL was renamed WEL Networks Ltd. After the Trust's 2003 elections it reduced grants given to community groups and started paying discounts to customers. By 2014 the Trust had paid over $240 million to customers in discounts, but had also invested over $60 million in community and energy efficiency grants. In 2014–15, over $2m was paid in grants. WEL Networks formed a joint venture in 2010 with Waipa Networks and Crown Fibre Holdings to establish Ultra-fast Fibre Limited, a company that owns and operates the fibre network in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Tauranga, and Whanganui. In 2016, WEL and Waipa Networks paid $189 million to take 100% control of the Ultra-Fast Fibre company. In 2020, WEL and Waipa Networks sold their interest in Ultra-fast Fibre to Japanese-owned First State Investments for $854 million.

Distribution network

WEL's distribution area covers the Hamilton City and the majority of the

Waikato District Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia. The district is centred t ...

, including the towns of

Ngāruawāhia Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Range. Ngāruawāhia is in the Hamilto ...

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settleme ...

Te Kauwhata Te Kauwhata is a small town in the north of the Waikato region of New Zealand, situated close to the western shore of Lake Waikare, some 40 km north of Hamilton and approximately 58 km south of Manukau City. Description ''Te Kau ...

and Raglan. The distribution network is supplied from Transpower's national grid at four grid exit points (GXPs): Hamilton (Ruakura Road), Te Kowhai,

and

Meremere Meremere is a small town in the northern Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the east bank of the Waikato River, 50 kilometres north of Hamilton and 63 km south of Auckland. Meremere was the site of fightin ...

. WEL networks uses 33,000 volts for subtransmission and 11,000 volts for distribution. As is standard in New Zealand, electricity is delivered to homes at 230/400 volts (phase-to-neutral/phase-to-phase).

Generation assets

* 1 MW Horotiu landfill gas generation (to 2012) * 64 MW Te Uku Wind Farm

Subsidiaries

* Infratec Limited

References

External links

WEL Networks website
{{Authority control Electric power distribution network operators in New Zealand Telecommunications companies of New Zealand Waikato New Zealand companies established in 1989 Energy companies established in 1989