Staff wellbeing is a major focus for Timaru-based electricity distribution business Alpine Energy. The community-owned company – which owns, maintains and operates the physical infrastructure of poles, wires and underground cables that deliver electricity – employs around 240 staff and distributes power to over 34,000 homes and businesses in South Canterbury through energy retailers.
Owned by Timaru District Holdings Limited, the Waimate and Mackenzie District Councils, along with Lines Trust South Canterbury, its service area stretches over 10,000 square kilometres from the Rangitata River to the Waitaki River, and from the east coast to Aoraki/Mount Cook.
“It’s so important that our people are fit, well and supported, so they can make strong, safe decisions out in the field and when planning work.”
Staff wellbeing has been a key focus area for the business over the last two years, and in particular, for Susan Lowe, one of their Executives. Susan has the official title of Chief People and Organisational Performance Officer, which means, as she puts it, that she looks after all things to do with people, safety and business transformation.
She has been a driving force behind a wellbeing initiative that has positively influenced all three. “All things ‘people’ essentially covers everything our people experience in the workplace, and wellbeing is clearly a big part of that. It also crosses over directly into safety. We’re a safety-critical organisation dealing with electricity daily, and if things aren’t done properly, it can have severe consequences.”
“That’s why it’s so important that our people are fit, well and supported, so they can make strong, safe decisions out in the field and when planning work,” Susan explains.
Two years ago, Alpine Energy recognised that wellbeing efforts were lacking and not holistic. There was little clarity for staff on how to focus on their wellbeing and what being fit for work meant from a wellbeing perspective, so they set out to change that.
They began by talking with their people across the business, from toolbox sessions to listening groups with wellness ambassadors, union delegates and safety representatives. Over two solid weeks, they proactively ran multiple information and feedback sessions.
“We wanted to understand what was already working, what barriers were preventing people from accessing what was available and what they wanted us to do differently to support wellness and enable fitness for work,” says Susan. “Our wellbeing programme, FullyCharged, is what came out of that engagement and gave a clear identity to the work we were doing.”
The 2024 programme was built around five pillars: a wellbeing calendar to provide ongoing guidance and engagement opportunities; specialist education through The Great Recharge Programme supported by MyEveryDay Wellbeing, offering individual tools and strategies just as useful at home as at work; building capability through training and leadership sessions; refreshing existing wellness activities under the FullyCharged banner; and reimagining benefits to ensure tangible support for employees.
“The response was fantastic, and the engagement with the simple concepts around energy and recharging from The Great Recharge was awesome to see, but we knew we wanted to do more,” says Susan.
FullyCharged continues to evolve and improve, designed to ensure staff at Alpine Energy come to work feeling well: physically, mentally and emotionally. In 2025, additional learning and capability-building opportunities were introduced, and employees can also now customise wellbeing benefits to best suit their individual needs.
Its success was recently recognised when it was named a finalist for Wellbeing Programme of the Year at the 2026 New Zealand HR Awards. More importantly, FullyCharged is making a tangible difference in the daily lives of the people who keep the lights on in South Canterbury.
© Waterford Press Ltd 2026 – Independent Print Media New Zealand
