EDBs join forces with Tapestry to transform grid reliability with AI
We’re proud to be part of a new consortium of four of New Zealand’s largest Energy Distribution Businesses (EDBs) partnering with Tapestry, Google’s moonshot for the electric grid. Together, we’re leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision to enhance grid reliability and efficiency.
The consortium includes Northpower, Orion, Unison Networks, and WEL Networks. Collectively, we deliver electricity to more than 510,000 customers across the North and South Islands—representing over 25% of all electricity customers nationwide.
The partners are deploying Tapestry’s GridAware platform to transform asset inspection and maintenance processes, using drones and AI to identify potential equipment defects faster and more efficiently. This is rooted in the spirit of mahi tahi and collaboration.
Smarter grids through shared intelligence
The partnership addresses a core challenge facing New Zealand’s 29 EDBs, which collectively maintain over 150,000 kilometres of power lines. Given the wide variety of equipment across the grids, individual EDBs often lack the high volume of image data needed to effectively train AI algorithms.
By collaborating, the consortium members will pool their collective data and insights. Field experts will use GridAware to label thousands of examples of different types of assets and potential equipment defects. The EDBs aim to contribute more than 10,000 labeled images identifying 10 unique types of grid assets over the next two years.
Statements from EDB Chief Executives:
“This is a great example of companies combining for impact – this technology will enhance our asset planning, help us dispatch crews with more efficiency, and ensure our teams know exactly what they are dealing with on every job – it’s just what we need as New Zealand steps up to do more, at a time when our engineering and trade skills are at full stretch,” said Northpower CE Andrew McLeod.
“I know from the conversations I’ve been having that we are all excited by the opportunities provided by the GridAware platform to improve long-term planning and real-time performance for the benefit of electricity consumers and the wider industry. The early identification of potential asset failures before they happen will have enormous benefits for customers,” said The Orion Group CE Nigel Barbour.
"This collaboration and partnership puts us ahead of the curve. By adopting digital solutions and sharing insights, we can better anticipate issues before they cause outages, reduce interruptions, improve operational efficiencies, and build more resilient electricity networks for New Zealanders. As a collective, we’re not waiting for change — we’re leading it," said Unison Group Chief Executive Jaun Park.
“This partnership marks a significant step forward for New Zealand’s electricity distribution sector. By sharing our network data, asset imagery, engineering expertise and technology platforms, we’re enabling smarter AI solutions that no single EDB could achieve alone. By working together, we are improving overall network reliability and increasing operational efficiency to keep our costs down,” said WEL Networks CE Garth Dibley
Accelerated maintenance and reduced outages
In the near-term, this joint effort will allow consortium members to quickly identify and address equipment that is defective or nearing the end of its life, preventing issues before they cause outages.
The new consortium builds directly on Tapestry’s ongoing work with Vector, New Zealand’s largest EDB. Vector, which serves 1.8 million customers, has successfully used the GridAware platform to demonstrate how AI can transform grid management, reporting a significant boost in efficiency.
"We are grateful for the mahi that Vector and Tapestry have already done to advance the GridAware platform," the consortium added.
In August, Vector released data showing that utilizing GridAware enabled field assessment technicians to inspect roadside utility poles more than five times (5x) faster, reducing inspection times per pole from 30–45 minutes down to just 5–7 minutes.
Page Crahan, General Manager of Tapestry, said the consortium’s contributions will help provide a highly-accurate baseline of New Zealand’s distribution grid. "We hope that by sharing this collective grid intelligence through a unified platform, Tapestry can help the country’s entire grid grow stronger and more resilient in the years to come, while keeping prices affordable for electricity customers."
Tapestry and the founding EDBs hope to expand the collaboration and encourage other New Zealand EDBs to join the consortium.