Telnet has been New Zealand’s leading contact centre for the energy and utilities sector for over two decades. Maintaining that position isn’t something that happens automatically — it requires constant attention to the specific needs of the sector, investment in relevant capabilities, and a genuine commitment to the outcomes that matter to our utility clients and their customers.
Why Utilities Are Different
Contact centre work for utility companies presents challenges that are different from most other sectors. The stakes are higher — a power outage isn’t a minor inconvenience, it’s a safety issue for vulnerable customers and a business disruption for commercial accounts. The volume spikes are more extreme — a major weather event can multiply call volumes overnight. And the information required is more complex and more time-critical — agents need to know the status of specific networks, specific faults, specific restoration timelines.
Telnet has built our utility sector capability around these specific requirements. Our outage interception systems, developed originally for Vector, are now a core capability deployed across multiple utility clients. Our knowledge management systems are configured to handle the complex, rapidly-changing information environment of a utility contact centre.
The Technology Investment
Our migration to Amazon Connect has particularly benefited our utility sector work. The AI and analytics capabilities of the platform enable more sophisticated handling of the demand spikes that characterise utility contact during weather events and planned outages.
Tulip AI, our virtual agent platform, was developed specifically to handle high-volume, information-heavy utility enquiries — outage status, estimated restoration times, fault reporting. During Cyclone Tam in 2025, it handled 33% of all inbound calls for a major utility, providing real-time updates without placing customers on hold.
The Relationship Foundation
Technology is the enabler, but relationships are the foundation. Telnet’s longest utility client relationship dates back to 1999. That kind of longevity is only possible when you’re genuinely delivering value — and when you’re investing in understanding the client’s business deeply enough to anticipate needs and solve problems before they’re asked.
Maintaining our position as the sector’s leading provider means continuing to make that investment every day.
