From Reports to Reality: Why Energy Infrastructure Needs Strategic Communications
By Victoria Crockford
11 December 2025
The Boston Consulting Group released its latest report into the New Zealand energy market last week. Energy To Grow: Securing New Zealand’s Energy Future was commissioned by the big four “gentailers” and follows on from BCG’s 2022 “The Future Is Electric” report.
Based on observations of commentary online and in the media – it is landing largely as expected.
Gas advocates are finding validation in the recommendations related to recommendations about doubling effective gas storage and accelerating LNG imports. Those advocating for mass electrification and scaling up of residential and commercial solar have argued that it will lock New Zealand into costly infrastructure and delay the renewables transition.
While those outside the sector may be mystified as to why a triannual report from an overseas consulting behemoth holds such weight, the fact that the 2022 report is still being referenced tells you this one will have legs, regardless of where you sit on the fuel mix question.
What stood out to us was the emphasis placed on coordination and communication to ensure public awareness and visibility. Through this lens, strategic communications and engagement approaches become core to the economic and asset development strategies required to shepherd Aotearoa through the tradeoffs and transition.
Planning for the plan
There are two places where the BCG report explicitly notes the criticality of communications and engagement in its 5 priority areas and recommendations:
In relation to the pipeline of information for renewables development – which it flags as an Electricity Authority responsibility
In relation to general public awareness about the tradeoffs and opportunities of the energy transition – which it puts at EECA’s door.
It is heartening to see such explicit recommendations about visibility and energy literacy up front – and the key actors named. Because it is one thing to assure the public that “we have a plan”, it is a different thing to have provided the level of information that will allow communities to plan.
At a practical level, developers, councils, iwi, and communities all need clear signals about what's coming and when to make informed choices: visibility over the renewables pipeline can support strategic sequencing of what resources are invested where and get critical stakeholders alongside.
Conversely, poor information flows create resistance that can slow critical infrastructure projects in the long run – it is much easier to fear what we don’t understand.
At a broader, social level, energy literacy can help those responsible for our assets make better informed decisions. There is often a culture in the energy sector (and in other sectors) that it is too complicated, and people just don’t care. But this type of arrogance can be the enemy of the type of influence that will unlock localised opportunities and partnerships.
While most people certainly do just want to turn the lights on, the increasing awareness of the fragilities of our grid and the threat to power supply during extreme weather events means that many communities are increasingly interested in understanding how the energy system works.
Security of supply as a two-way conversation
Queenstown, where Heft is headquartered, is one such example.
While the BCG report frames resilience around backup fuels and dry year risk, there’s a regional dimension that they touch much more lightly. For places like Queenstown, lines infrastructure upgrades aren't just about capacity – they're about redundancy and security for regions that can't afford outages or are at particular risk of single point of failure and disruptive events.
Queenstown is busy planning for the inevitable AF8 (Alpine Fault) earthquake, which could cut the district off from supplies and transport routes for weeks. As part of this, different parts of the community are becoming increasingly aware of the vulnerability of our energy supply – looking north to Hawke’s Bay and the East Cape for lessons during Cyclone Gabrielle.
As the energy literacy of the community increases, so too does the expectation of a two-way conversation about energy infrastructure. There is a sentiment that it is not enough to have investment done to us, we want it done with us – and informed by our specific, local needs.
To meet this expectation requires more than technical solutions – it requires trusted messengers, clear narratives, and communities brought along rather than managed.
As the BCG report lays out in relation to rising transmission and distribution charges, hard and honest conversations about tradeoffs and potential bill shocks are part of this – a challenge that includes the EA and EECA but is also the responsibility of all parts of the energy system.
Translating good intentions into trusted conversations
BCG's recommendations require an ongoing program of trust building to go from report to reality and to:
Translate efficiency gains and cost drivers for bill-payers who are understandably skeptical
Create genuine two-way dialogue around regional resilience and investments
Build pipeline transparency that enables rather than confuses planning
Improve the energy literacy of the general population so the sector can’t rely on “it’s too complicated” and can ultimately benefit from the two-way street of communication by getting community buy-in
The sector has many talented people with the right values who want to make a difference – but good intentions don't automatically translate into influence. Real impact requires turning your expertise into trusted relationships with stakeholders, decision-makers, and communities.
At Heft, we specialise in delivering strategic communications for New Zealand's interconnected landscape.