PowerNet Recognised At Annual EMPA Awards
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PowerNet's communications during the October 2025 windstorm have been recognised twice at the annual Emergency Media and Public Affairs (EMPA) Awards.
The company received a Highly Commended in the Excellence in Response category and a further Highly Commended in the People's Choice section at the EMPA NZ conference last week. The awards recognise outstanding emergency communications work carried out in New Zealand over the past year.
PowerNet chief executive Paul Blue said the recognition reflected the effort staff put into keeping communities informed through the storm and its aftermath.
"Throughout PowerNet, our people worked incredibly hard to restore power and help communities through a very difficult time. Keeping people informed was a key part of that effort, even when we couldn't give them the certainty they understandably wanted," Blue said.
"We couldn't necessarily tell people when their power would be back on, but we could keep showing up, share what we knew, and be honest about what we didn't."
Blue said the scale of the event was huge and it was important that the community understood the severity of the damage and the work going on to repair it.
Throughout the response and recovery, PowerNet shared dozens of updates through its social media, website, and local and national media, covering the damage, restoration progress and safety information. The team answered questions, listened to concerns, and shared as much information as possible to help households, businesses, and communities plan around the disruption.
A "Goodnight Kiwi" themed Facebook post tied the communications together each evening, letting communities know the team would return in the morning with updates.
Blue said the community played a part in the response too.
"Our communities were vital to our response, too. People shared information that helped us understand what was happening on the ground, looked out for one another, and offered encouragement to our teams. That kindness meant a great deal to staff working long hours, especially when it came from those who were without power themselves."
"We know people really struggled without power for so long and, while our regular updates couldn't take away that hardship, we wanted people to know they hadn't been forgotten and our work to get their power back on was continuing."
The EMPA result is the third time PowerNet has been recognised nationally for its October storm response. It received a Bronze Award in the Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management category at the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) Awards in June, and took home the Energy Distributor of the Year title at the 2026 New Zealand Energy Excellence Awards in August.
"Weather events of this scale present a massive challenge and are never something any electricity distributor wants to deal with, but I'm proud of how our teams responded and grateful to everyone who supported the recovery. These awards recognise our efforts, the efforts of our mutual aid partners and contractors, and the wider team who worked to get power back to our communities. This recognition is something we can all share in, and it's rewarding knowing that when the worst hits, our response is of the highest quality," Blue said.