Space weather exercise strengthens sector preparedness

The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko has published the Industry Exercise 2026 key insights and recommendations report, summarising the outcomes of this year's industry exercise and identifying opportunities to strengthen sector preparedness and resilience.

Jointly delivered by the Authority and Transpower, this year’s annual exercise simulated a major space weather event affecting New Zealand's electricity system. Participants tested how they would coordinate responses, communicate with consumers and stakeholders, and support the safe operation of the power system as impacts escalated.

Hayden Glass, Electricity Authority General Manager Wholesale and Commercial, says the exercise reinforced the importance of preparation, collaboration and continuous improvement across the sector.

"Major power system events are rare, but when they occur the sector needs to be ready to respond quickly and work together effectively.

"This exercise helped participants identify practical opportunities to strengthen their readiness. We encourage organisations to review the recommendations and apply relevant lessons to their planning, communications and operational processes."

The report identifies several areas for continued industry focus, including demand management, incident management, communications preparedness, misinformation management and support for medically dependent consumers.

Key recommendations include strengthening preparedness for outages, adopting recognised incident management practices such as the Coordinated Incident Management System, improving information sharing across organisations and ensuring communications are clear, consistent and accessible.

The exercise also highlighted the importance of communications readiness during major events, including clear communication processes and robust safeguards against misinformation and inaccurate content.

Industry participants are encouraged to incorporate the lessons learned from the exercise into their business continuity plans, communications plans and operational procedures to further strengthen the sector's collective preparedness.