Powerco Appoints New Chief Executive

Powerco today announced the appointment of Jason Franklin as its new Chief Executive.

Jason Franklin is currently Chief Executive Officer of PowerNet Limited, a role he has held since 2012. Before joining PowerNet Jason had a 14-year career in the Rio Tinto group working in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia. He began his career at the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand. He is a board member of the Electricity Networks Association and has previously served on the Executive Committee of the Major Electricity Users Group and the Wholesale Advisory Group for the Electricity Authority. He is a director of SBS Bank Limited, Great South and has also been a director of Invercargill Airport and chair of Rugby Southland.

Powerco Board Chair John Loughlin is pleased to welcome Jason to lead the company into the future and says he brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise and customer understanding to Powerco.

“Supporting our communities, delivering better outcomes for our customers, and facilitating New Zealand’s decarbonisation imperative is what drives us at Powerco, which is why Jason is such a strong fit for our business. He has an impressive track record as an accomplished and proven Chief Executive in the energy distribution sector. He has demonstrated success in building and leading high performing teams, delivering major capital investment projects, shaping business strategies and making a range of unregulated energy investments,” says John Loughlin.

Jason Franklin will take up the new position as Chief Executive on 28 April 2025.

Jason Franklin replaces James Kilty, who left the business on 20 December 2024 to become CEO of Transpower New Zealand Limited. Chris Taylor, Powerco Chief Financial Officer, is Acting CEO and will continue in that role until 28 April 2025.

Looking ahead to his new position, Jason says he is excited to join New Zealand’s largest dual electricity and gas distributor by network length.

“As a provider of essential infrastructure, Powerco plays a key role within the communities it serves, and I am delighted to be joining the team at this time of change in the industry. Powerco’s focus is on serving its customers, building resilience, capacity and technology into its networks to support decarbonisation and complex two-way flows of energy. It’s a time when New Zealand’s energy sector will need to invest heavily ahead of demand and to drive efficiency in everything it does,” says Jason Franklin.

“Powerco has a clear strategy and talented team already in place. The company has a huge responsibility to invest, deliver, innovate and collaborate with customers and others in the sector. Powerco has a deep capacity to invest and to set its communities up to succeed in the new energy future,” says Jason Franklin.

Powerco is New Zealand’s largest dual electricity and gas distributor by network length, with over 900,000 customers (across over 473,000 connections) connected to its networks. Powerco’s electricity network covers Coromandel to South Waikato, Tauranga and Mt Maunganui, Taranaki, Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Manawatū and Wairarapa. Its gas network covers Taranaki, Horowhenua, Hawke's Bay, Manawatū, Horowhenua, Porirua, Hutt Valley and Wellington. It won Energy Distributor of the Year at the 2024 Energy Excellence Awards.

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