How data-driven solutions deferred a $3 million investment and solved a remote EV charging challenge
EV chargers at Springs Junction, located at 8 State Highway 65, Springs Junction 7895. Source: Meridian
In early 2025, Meridian Energy installed charging stations at the iconic but remote South Island road trip stop, Springs Junction. Another fascinating dimension of the project was the data science required to design this solution. Here’s how data analytics informed Network Tasman’s understanding and transformed their approach to addressing capacity challenges, without spending millions to upgrade their network.
For a number of years Network Tasman had been aware of the Electric Vehicle (EV) charging dead spot between Murchison and Hanmer Springs. The remote area didn’t have the capacity required to meet the needs of high capacity EV chargers.
For Network Tasman to make the necessary upgrades to their high voltage network, to supply capacity for an EV charger at Springs Junction, an investment of NZD$3 million would be required. The traditional network solutions were clearly not feasible.
Andrew Stanton , Fibre & Technology Manager at Network Tasman, says: “In 2022, we worked with Hiko and their LV network modelling platform to identify if a non-traditional solution could be deployed that would avoid the huge upgrade costs.” The findings of this work were shared with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), as well as applicants to their Low Emission Transport Fund.
Using the Hiko Energy Insights platform and smart meter data from their Low Voltage network, they could see that the network was operating at capacity for a number of hours a day, and a number of months per year. “However, there was still a large period of time that additional capacity was available,” says Andrew. A battery that could store available energy from the network, then provide it to customers when needed, seemed an ideal solution.
Once the team at Network Tasman identified the scope of the issue, they used Hiko to gain insights as to when the network had available capacity at Springs Junction. “We looked both across the seasons, and also at periods of the day, broken down into 48 x 30min segments. This information was used to produce a dynamic capacity envelope that could be delivered without network investment,” says Andrew.
A dynamic capacity envelope or dynamic operating envelope (DOE) is a system that uses real-time information about network constraints to adjust the limits on how much power customers can import (as in the case of EV charging) or export (from excess solar power). The limits can vary over time and location, rather than a fixed limit that doesn’t flex with network capacity.
Network Tasman then worked with Frazer Engineering to develop a device that would enable the delivery of this dynamic capacity to Meridian.
“Going forward, this reduces the barriers to installing flexible loads like EV chargers in areas where network capacity is limited, or when using traditional methods would be expensive,” says Andrew.
“We’d like to thank the Hiko team for their time and effort to identify the available capacity at Springs Junction, and then in developing the platform further. This enabled us to identify capacity envelopes anywhere on our network with minimal effort.”
Using Smart Meter Data and the Data Analytics Journey
“When we started our LV data journey there were no templates to follow and nothing available in the industry to provide the types of insights that Hiko provides.” Network Tasman, alongside other New Zealand EDBs, pooled their resources and developed Hiko with Smartco, to fill this gap.
“It is mature enough to be easily deployed over the most complex of LV data sets. The set up is very quick and being web based requires almost nil effort from our internal IT resource unlike other tools that are starting to become available in New Zealand.”
Hiko is an integral part of Network Tasman’s business, used daily — for identifying network performance issues, reducing time taken to investigate new connections, or to confirm supply restoration after an outage event.
“All of this benefits the region’s electricity consumers,” says Andrew.
In terms of future planning, Network Tasman is currently working to understand the implications of consumers installing DER (Distributed Energy Resources, i.e. rooftop solar panels or EV chargers) on the network.
“Hiko allows us to observe ICP loads before and after they install DER. We can extrapolate this to better understand how a consumer's load changes, including when they install various combinations of DER. These are valuable insights when trying to ascertain the extent to which these types of installation assist us in managing network peaks,” Andrew observes.
About Hiko Energy Insights
We have been collaborating with New Zealand EDBs to unlock the power of their smart meter data for over 8 years.
Hiko offers scalable data processing capabilities, handling over 250TB of meter reads daily while their ISO 27001 accreditation ensures the highest levels of data security.
There’s no need to invest in IT infrastructure either – we store and process the data, which EDBs have full access to for as long as they need it, on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Powerful, secure data processing that is scalable and robust.
Every network is unique, from infrastructure to data management practices. Our team works closely with each partner to provide flexible, tailored solutions that meet specific needs.