Mercury scales smart hot water control with Gentrack partnership

Mercury Energy has partnered with technology company Gentrack to deliver a large-scale demand flexibility programme designed to help customers reduce costs while easing pressure on New Zealand’s national grid during peak times.

The partnership centres on Mercury’s smart hot water control programme, which the company is scaling following multiple successful trials. Gentrack will provide the technology platform needed to manage customer programme enrolment and control large numbers of behind-the-meter household energy devices.

Through the platform, customers’ hot water cylinders are connected, monitored and controlled to optimise energy use and costs. This means they can be switched on or off, or have heating times adjusted to shift consumption away from peak periods.

An electric hot water cylinder makes up around 30% of a home’s monthly power bill, according to the companies. Today’s cylinders are well-insulated, so they don’t need to operate continuously to still have hot water available when needed.

The Gentrack platform also leverages technology from Evergen, which helps coordinate and track home devices in real time, managing performance, monitoring connection status and responding quickly to outages. Together, these solutions create a reliable, scalable setup for Mercury’s smart hot water programme.

The first 50,000 cylinders involved are expected to deliver energy savings by shifting around 2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) per year away from peak times.

“We’re focussed on enabling customers to shift consumption and lower their costs, which in turn supports efficient use of energy across the system,” says Braam Conradie, General Manager Markets at Mercury.

“It’s great to be working with Gentrack to enable initiatives like our smart hot water programme.”

Allan Sampson, General Manager New Zealand at Gentrack, says the partnership addresses key energy sector challenges.

“This is exactly where the energy transition is leading us, towards innovative demand-side flex solutions that address the energy trilemma – more reliability, greater sustainability and ultimately lower bills for customers,” he says.

“We’re proud to be working with Mercury to enable smart, flexible energy use that benefits households and supports the continued transformation of the energy sector.”

Working alongside Mercury, Evergen and Bluecurrent, Gentrack says it is helping reshape the energy landscape with smart, connected and customer-focused solutions essential for a net zero future.

Mercury’s generation assets generate electricity from 100% renewable sources including hydro, geothermal and wind. The company is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and Australian Stock Exchange, with the New Zealand Government holding a legislated minimum 51% shareholding.

Gentrack has been partnering with utilities for over 35 years, with more than 60 energy and water companies relying on its technology platforms.