The Lines Company and Counties Energy launch a Shared Platform and Services Partnership

Counties Energy and The Lines Company (TLC) today announced the start of a Shared Platform and Services partnership designed to reduce duplication, lower long-term costs, deliver faster and better customer benefits — while preserving the advantages of local control and frontline employment.

The partnership will initially focus on digital platforms, joint procurement and energy hardship programmes that will deliver tangible benefits for customers, via a simple, scalable model that other Electricity Distribution Businesses (EDBs) can choose to participate in. It is a layered, simple model with minimal overhead that focuses on back-office efficiencies and specialist expertise sharing.

This matters because the most cost-effective upgrade is the one that doesn’t need to be built. By working together, through smarter digital control, common systems and less duplication, networks can potentially move more energy across the same assets, keeping bills lower over time and improving resilience during bad weather and peaks.

As the partnership matures, Counties Energy and The Lines Company will continue to explore additional areas where collaboration can improve efficiency, capability and customer outcomes across the electricity distribution sector.

The Lines Company Chief Executive Mike Fox said, “Our vision is simple and customer-centred: do the right thing, do it together and do it now. By sharing platforms, procurement and expertise, we remove duplication, share specialist capability and pass efficiencies straight through to the communities we serve. This partnership is built to scale, transfer and adapt, creating intergenerational value while staying true to our local needs and values.”

This new partnership demonstrates sector leadership at a time when the Government has challenged EDBs to move faster on collaboration, standardisation and affordability. Rather than wait for structural change, Counties Energy and TLC are acting now with a bottom‑up, low‑overhead model that focuses on outcomes customers can see and feel.

Judy Nicholl, Chief Executive of Counties Energy believes the partnership approach is a practical response to industry challenges and will deliver benefits to customers faster, and more efficiently.

“TLC and Counties Energy are responding with a pragmatic partnership that can help customers see real benefits sooner, rather than years down the line. Formal collaboration like this can improve speed, cost and customer outcomes, with shared systems, common standards and less duplication meaning communities see real benefits faster, while local jobs and decision-making stay local. We also believe it’s a relatively simple model that can work with other EDBs.”

From day one this partnership will include several key initiatives – Counties Energy sharing its digital platforms and Distribution System Operator (DSO) capability with TLC and TLC sharing its expertise on implementing a unified Energy Hardship programme with Counties Energy. Both organisations will jointly develop a shared, common procurement approach which will deliver greater operational efficiencies.

“This partnership is simple by design and ambitious in impact,” said Mike Fox, “As the model proves its value, the partners will invite other like-minded EDBs to join us on a clear pathway with substance. We believe it has the potential to accelerate sector-wide collaboration and standardisation.”

Judy Nicholl adds, “It is about doing more together; aligning and standardising where sensible, sharing what works (and what doesn’t), and keeping overheads lean so benefits flow directly to customers and communities. By aligning on shared systems and expertise, EDBs can deliver outcomes for customers quickly, efficiently and in a standardised manner.”

With significant capital and operational investment required this decade across Aotearoa New Zealand, The Lines Company-Counties Energy partnership prioritises efficient, consistent processes and systems that enable greater customer outcomes.