New Network Waitaki chief executive Dylan Andrews loves an adventure, and that’s how he views his move south from the Kapiti Coast. (5-minute read)

Dylan started in his new role on February 7, and beforehand, most of what he knew of the region he and his family were about to call home, was what he could find on Google.

“It is incredible,” he says.

“I know a region is more than just a geography, but you are truly blessed . . . within an hour of Oamaru you've got an amazing playground in Waitaki. An hour further than that you have got the other regions of Central Otago and Canterbury, and if you had another hour you could easily be in Southland, and I think it's just incredible.”

Before taking on the role vacated by Geoff Douch in November last year, Dylan spent close to ten years in various executive roles at a company called Electra, in the Kapiti and Horowhenua region.

Electra is a consumer-owned electricity distribution company similar to Network Waitaki, with 45,000 customers.

During his time there he held responsibilities in technology, business transformation, strategy and risk management. He was then general manager of the lines business and contracting before becoming chief operating officer for a number of years. He was also acting chief executive there for about five months, before the company welcomed Geoff into the role.

This job with Network Waitaki offers Dylan the chance to advance into a chief executive role, and he sees the opportunities available in the region.

“Our electricity demand is growing significantly, so that's a huge challenge. Irrigation load is something new to me, so that was particularly of interest from a career perspective. I've very much always been an adventure and outdoors-type person, so I saw coming to Waitaki as a once in a lifetime adventure, and it's great.

“Now that I've arrived in Ōamaru, I have found the people so welcoming, and intend to make the most of the well-established Newcomers Network to make new connections,” he says.

Dylan’s wife Stacey and three children Arabelle, 14, Lukey, 12, and Elissia, 10, are planning to follow him south, once the family home in Horowhenua is sold. 

Prior to Electra, Dylan spent a decade with another electricity distribution business, Counties Power, in Pukekohe, where he had responsibilities in similar fields - technology, and strategy and risk management.

“The difference between Network Waitaki and the previous organisations I have worked at is that they were pursuing a strategy of diversification with a wide range of businesses. In contrast, Network Waitaki has retained a very clear purpose and focus, which is electricity distribution and the associated design, build and maintenance workforce.”

At Network Waitaki, Dylan says his aim is to build on the great work of those who have come before him.

“Network Waitaki has got a really enviable reliability record considering its unique and challenging geography.

“Its contracting business that maintains and builds the electricity network is well respected in the industry and is regularly selected to work on other networks who are also facing the challenge of building their networks to meet increasing electricity demand,” he says.

“I want to ensure that power is always there when you turn the lights in your home and can be counted on to run your businesses - whether that be in an office or on the land.

“In reality, this is all about managing what we call the ‘energy trilemma’ where we need to carefully balance security of supply, affordability and sustainability while keeping customers in the centre of our decision making.”

Demand, which is when electricity usage peaks, is an increasing challenge.

“So our peaks, we're getting peakier, as our customers increase electricity usage. This is requiring us to build more infrastructure . . . to meet that increased electrification, which is driven by our government's decarbonisation (reducing the use of fossil fuels) commitments.

“We are challenged on how to invest to meet that need. When you build infrastructure, you do so at scale, so you set yourself up with capacity for the future.”

Dylan wants to smooth the cost impact of the required investment by a combination of borrowing and price increases, so the power is always there, for current and future industry and homes.

“It is challenging because I appreciate affordability is a real issue for many parts of our community, never more so than now, but energy costs are increasing throughout the world. For most, electricity will remain the lowest cost way to power your homes and businesses.”

Network Waitaki is also encouraging and exploring adopting renewable energy sources.

“We are 100 percent behind supporting renewable energy whether that be wind, solar or hydro. We need a mix of energy solutions” Dylan says.

“The challenge for us is, on a cold, snowy winter day or night, there may be no wind or sun so electricity from the distributor like Network Waitaki is the only viable alternative that day. But we are challenging ourselves to have that mix of solutions, so it's the most cost-effective and efficient way of providing that certainty, because our community can't grow without that certainty of utilities, of which electricity is a key component.”

Being a visible and strong sponsor of community groups and initiatives, including the Network Waitaki Event Centre, is something the company is “very proud” to be part of, and Dylan looks forward to that continuing.

Outside of work he enjoys golf and mountain biking, and hiking “out in nature” - driven by his children who share his love of the outdoors, despite its lack of internet, he says.

“So the rivers, lakes, bush and mountains of Waitaki are a real attraction . . . I have never lived or really experienced alpine conditions in my tramping, other than the regular Tongariro Crossing trips.

“I'm not going to do Mt Aspiring, I'll just say that for the record - but I'm in awe of those that do, but getting out there a bit more would be just brilliant, with the kids.”

Network Waitaki has about 14,000 connected electricity customers in the region, and there is a concerted effort to keep things local as much as possible.

“We're very proud that we look local. We employ local, we bring people in locally, we spend local wherever we can. 

“I don't have the exact numbers of how much our purchasing and spending and wages are in our community, but I'm confident that it's significant. It is something that we feel strongly about . . . We are part of this community, and we're very proud of that.”

Talking of community, Dylan has been “blown away” by the warm welcome he has received since moving to Ōamaru.

“I don’t have the right phrase and the words for it, but I've been embraced. Not just accepted, I've been welcomed really, really positively.”

He sees a strong commitment to addressing how the region can grow from a commercial business perspective and looks forward to working with those “business champions to actually look for a step change”.

Network Waitaki is working on a strategy to bring in large energy users that recognise the value being in the Waitaki region provides and aligns to what the community wants, he says.

“This is why it is so important for locals to engage in the district planning process, and contribute to the Waitaki District Council’s long term plan and economic plans.”

Having a presence at the North Otago A&P Show in February and providing rides in the bucket truck, was the chance to offer children and adults alike insight into the industry. 

Engaging with the community is very important to the company and needs to be more than the traditional newsletter and publications, Dylan says.

He was “thrilled” to see Network Waitaki and the Waitaki Power Trust had stands next to each other at the show, “literally, shoulder to shoulder in communicating the benefits and what Network Waitaki is about”, showing great unity.

Ensuring diversity within the company is another challenge.

“I have a real commitment to the diversity of thinking, the diversity of culture, and of gender. . . I think we have a lot to be gained if we create an environment that encourages this. While it is a sector-wide challenge, I am confident that we can build upon the already well-established development programmes within the company.”

A third challenge is sustainability, and Dylan envisions Network Waitaki will show a pro-active approach to the issue - and not just through meeting the increased electricity needs resulting from decarbonisation.

“The evidence informs me we are experiencing the impact of climate change. We are living in times where we are seeing increased temperatures, which is resulting in more intense extreme weather events. 

“We are needing to build our network, we call it reinforcing, to withstand these increased challenges, and our challenge is to actually bring people along on the journey.”

Chair of the Network Waitaki board of directors, Michael de Buyzer, says Dylan was chosen from the large field of applicants in late December, 2023.

“We are delighted to be able to secure a person with his degree of industry knowledge and experience.”

He already had his “feet under the table” and the board were looking forward to seeing him develop and establish himself in the role, Michael says.