CALL FOR PAPERS

The Electricity Engineers’ Association (EEA) invites paper and presentation proposals for the EEA2026 Conference and Technology Exhibition.

There is no better event than the EEA2026 Conference and Technology Exhibition to connect, collaborate and grow your knowledge around the future of our industry.

There is no better event than the EEA Conference to connect, collaborate and grow knowledge about the future of New Zealand’s electricity sector. The EEA Conference is New Zealand’s premier technical and engineering forum for the electricity industry, bringing together network companies, generators, retailers, suppliers, regulators, researchers and practitioners from across the sector.

This year’s theme is:

Powering Prosperity: He Puna Waiora

Electricity is foundational to New Zealand’s economic growth, social wellbeing and the transition to a low-emissions economy. Over the next decade, the electricity sector will be asked to deliver more — faster, at greater scale, and with increasing complexity — while maintaining safety, reliability and affordability.

The 2026 Conference focuses on how the sector can lift productivity, build new capability, and adopt new technologies and ways of working, while continuing to deliver trusted outcomes for consumers, communities and the wider economy.

EEA2026 is about how the electricity sector:

• Empowers its people, organisations and consumers
• Delivers high-performing, reliable infrastructure and services at scale
• Transforms the system for a highly electrified future economy

We are seeking practical, evidence-based presentations that clearly describe:

• The challenge or problem being addressed,
• What was done (or is being done),
• What worked and what did not,
• Clear outcomes, take-outs and calls to action
• What the sector should do next — including implications for workforce capability and consumer outcomes.

Abstracts and papers may include:

• Engineering and technical analysis
• Case studies and project lessons
• Operational experience and implementation insights
• Research outcomes and applied innovation
• Regulatory, standards and system reform perspectives

Submissions should be practical, evidence-based, and relevant to industry practitioners and are strongly encouraged from across the whole electricity value chain, including

generators (including new entrants), EDBs, Transpower retailers, manufacturers, contractors and service providers, technology vendors, regulators, policy makers, academia/students and research organisations. Cross-sector and collaborative submissions are especially welcome.

Conference Themes

All submissions should align primarily to one of the three conference themes:

1. EMPOWER — Building people, institutions, capability and trust to enable the energy transition.

Topics of interest include:

1. • Workforce development, skills and training — including digital, data and AI capability
   • Leadership, safety culture, system security and emergency preparedness
   • Organisational capability, change management and operating model evolution
   • Customer trust, experience, equity, participation and affordability
   • Sector governance, institutions, regulatory capability and social licence
   • Collaboration models, shared capability platforms and common competency frameworks.
2. DELIVER — Delivering a high-performing, productive and reliable electricity system at scale.

Topics of interest include:

1. • Asset management, lifecycle value and investment prioritisation
   • System performance, reliability, resilience and operational excellence
   • Standards, standardisation and interoperability across the sector
   • Connections, major projects and end-to-end delivery process improvement
   • Productivity, cost efficiency and delivery at scale
   • Data quality, digital platforms, automation and operational analytics (including appropriate use of AI).
2. TRANSFORM — Evolving the electricity system markets and value chains through innovation, new technology and new operating models.

Topics of interest include:

1. • System transformation, Innovation, DER, flexibility and new operating paradigms
   • Future system architecture, DSO evolution, visibility and control
   • Electrification, new loads, new generation and whole-of-system planning
   • Resilience, climate adaptation, security and cyber-physical risk
   • Customer value, participation and affordability in a changing system
   • New value chains, new entrants, new markets and long-term investability.

Submission Guidance

Proposals should clearly indicate:

• Which theme the paper best aligns to (Empower, Deliver or Transform),
• The opportunity, problem or challenge being addressed,
• The approach taken and key insights or results, and
• Why the content is relevant and useful to the wider sector.

Abstracts can include:

• Engineering and technical analysis
• Case studies and project lessons
• Operational experience and implementation insights
• Research outcomes and applied innovation
• Regulatory, standards and system reform perspectives

Submissions should be practical, evidence-based, and relevant to industry practitioners.

Call for Papers Checklist Before Submitting

Please make sure you have the following information ready before submitting your abstract:

• Contact details for the corresponding author (the person who will receive all communication regarding the submission)
• Presentation Title - should be no more than 20 words
• Theme - please decide which theme you would like to allocate to your submission.
• Abstract - no more than 400 words, images are not allowed
• Name and affiliation of all authors linked to the submission
• Biography of presenting author - biography word limit is 100 words

 

Why Submit?

Preparing and presenting a technical paper is a valuable part of professional development. It provides a structured opportunity to reflect on practice, test ideas, and share experience and innovation with a knowledgeable and engaged industry audience.

The EEA Conference provides a platform to:

• Share new engineering knowledge, practices and technologies with peers across the electricity sector
• Showcase real-world projects, including challenges, outcomes and lessons learned
• Build professional reputation and profile within the sector by contributing to evidence-based industry dialogue

University and Polytech students are strongly encouraged to submit paper proposals. The EEA is committed to developing the next generation of engineers and practitioners, and to integrating student learning with industry practice.

Best Paper Awards

All papers submitted are eligible for the Best Paper Awards, recognising papers of outstanding quality in the following categories:

• EEA Member
• Best Paper Presentation (sponsored by the IET)
• Student
• Non-Member