Franklin energy sharing pilot

Ara Ake, in partnership with Counties Energy and Climate Connect Aotearoa, is running an energy sharing pilot in Franklin, South Auckland. This trial explores how communities can benefit from solar power, battery storage and peer-to-peer electricity trading.  

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How the energy sharing pilot works

The pilot tests multiple trading relationships. At Counties Energy headquarters in Pukekohe, solar panels and a community-scale battery have been installed. The electricity generated is shared with local community organisations that provide essential services to families in hardship:

• Whaanau Resources Trust
• Mai Lighthouse (formerly Franklin Family Support Services)
• Waiuku Family Support Network  

Through this project, electricity is gifted directly to these organisations, helping them reduce costs and continue supporting local families.  

Peer-to-peer energy sharing

Electricity is shared using an off-market peer-to-peer trading process. Customers receive a credit on their electricity bill, reflecting the solar power generated and battery energy discharged during each 30-minute trading period.

An energy sharing broker manages the process, including energy matching and multi-party billing, so it’s simple for customers.

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What is peer-to-peer trading?

The trial replicates the effect of having generation located at the customer’s own premises, offsetting their electricity consumption. In this case, however, the generation is remote and not physically connected to the customer’s installation. Despite this difference, the net impact on the customer’s electricity invoice is the same as if the generation were on-site.  

In this methodology, we use the terms:  ‍

• ‍Gifting customer – the generator who chooses to gift electricity
• ‍Receiving customer -  the customer or organisation that receives gifted electricity  

The project is supported via the Electricity Authority’s Power Innovation Pathway. Regulatory exemptions are currently being considered to enable the pilot.  

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Stakeholders

• Counties Energy - distributor on whose network the trial is being carried out  
• Climate Connect Aotearoa - providing community engagement support and rolling out solar panels on Auckland Council sites for future inclusion into energy sharing community
• Intellihub as metering equipment provider agent on the Counties Energy network
• Secondary retailer and generation trader is Paua to the People
• Our Energy acting as the data agent that will be contracted by the metering equipment provider
• Customer appointed agent that will be contracted by the project team and the customer/s to carry out billing processes
• Gifting customers (initially this is Counties Energy only but trial scalable to include further solar generators or batteries in future)  
• Receiving customers who will receive the gifted electricity  
• Current retailers to community organisations (receiving customers) that are part of the trial  

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Media

27 May 2025: Authority identifies two more high-value initiatives for Power Innovation Pathway support

27 May 2025: Counties Energy enables community energy sharing pilot with Ara Ake and Climate Connect Aotearoa

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Counties Energy Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Moonis Vegdani says the project is both an important community initiative and a demonstration of innovative collaboration in the sector to enable new customer-focused outcomes. “The project shows how innovation can increase the uptake of distributed renewable electricity sources within households at all income levels, and contribute to building a smart, resilient and affordable energy system of the future that offers more energy choice to customers. “Counties Energy is 100% consumer-owned – we have been serving our community for over a century – so it is immensely important to us that our innovations support the community we serve,” he says.

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Timeline

• October 2025: Go-live planning and briefings to industry
• September 2025: EA to decide on regulatory exemption
• August 2025: Counties Energy connects recycled battery for community use
• March 2025: Counties Energy installs solar panels at HQ
• February 2025: pilot participants submit regulatory exemptions
• 2024: Pilot scoping and planning, participants on-boarded and application submitted to EA’s Power Innovation Pathway