How WEL Networks built a more defensible capital plan and reduced its 10-year investment forecast by 7%
Facing record demand growth, WEL Networks needed a more consistent approach to Asset Investment Planning. With IFS Copperleaf, the electricity distributor moved from individual spreadsheets to continuous, risk-based capital planning, helping teams compare investments on a consistent basis and make more defensible decisions.
- 103,000+ homes and businesses served in New Zealand’s Waikato region
- 336 MW new peak demand, after 100 years to reach the previous one
- 7%* lower ten-year capital investment forecast
- NZ$5.7 million validated NPV benefit from deferring a substation by 5 to 6 years
- ~9 months from board approval to go-live
The challenge: a century of growth in five years
A cold snap pushed WEL Networks to a peak demand of 336 megawatts. WEL now expects peak demand to rise by 50% within three to five years. Decarbonisation, the shift away from gas and very large connection applications are driving it. Some applications are as big as 50 to 60 megawatts.
WEL is community-owned. It cannot simply keep building poles and wires. It needed one consistent, risk-based way to weigh network builds against non-network options such as batteries, and to justify every decision to its board.
What changed
- Governance, not just a system
Stage-gated governance brought finance and commercial teams into decisions that had been led by engineers alone. - Investments on the same terms
The Copperleaf Value Framework let WEL compare network and non-network investments, including resilience projects that had been set aside. - Planning that runs all year
A three-month annual planning crunch is gone. Investment planning is now spread across the year.
“The Copperleaf investment case showed this was actually a weak investment. We’ve deferred that project five to six years, and today its NPV to our customers is $5.7 million.”
Kerry Green, GM Asset Management, WEL Networks
Inside the full case study
The full story covers how WEL tested a substation project that had sat in its plan for five years. It explains how the board now sets its own risk appetite and sees the effect on the network. It also shares WEL’s advice for utilities starting the same journey, and how a collaboration with fellow New Zealand distributor Powerco earned a Copperleaf Innovation Award at the ANZ Community Forum 2025.
Build a capital plan your board can defend
See how IFS Copperleaf helps utilities turn asset data into defensible investment plans.