Z Business supports Omexom to integrate its electric and traditional fleet operations

Through Z Business, Omexom can access Z’s traditional fuel network and network of fast and ultra-fast chargers (currently available at select Z sites) from a single provider. 

Omexom New Zealand (Omexom) is a leading provider of engineering, construction and maintenance services across the electricity, resources, and infrastructure sectors. With over 1,000 employees across 29 locations nationwide, the team play a key role in helping their customers’ operations run smoothly. The work can be vast and varied, with services including supporting the maintenance of the electricity grid, substation construction and maintenance, and installing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. 

Much of this work occurs in regional and rural parts of New Zealand, and some in remote or hard-to-access areas ― like Manapouri at the edge of Fiordland National Park. Getting to these places can sometimes prove difficult, which means that Omexom’s team of engineers and technicians are reliant on their fleet to keep them moving. 

As part of their electrification journey and wider goal to reduce the emissions of their operation, Omexom have begun introducing EVs within their fleet. Currently, 120 of the vehicles in Omexom's 1,100-strong fleet are either EVs or hybrids, and the intention is to increase this over the coming years. 

As Omexom expanded their electric fleet, they recognised this as an opportunity to strengthen their 20-year partnership with Z Energy (Z). Through Z Business, Omexom can access Z’s traditional fuel network and network of fast and ultra-fast chargers (currently available at select Z sites) from a single provider.

For Omexom, using Z Business offers more than just access to fuel and charging. It has helped streamline their fleet management by having fuel and EV charging expenses managed by one provider, making the reconciliation process easier. Additionally, Z Business offers competitive pricing for EV charging, which can provide a cost-effective solution while also supporting Omexom’s electrification journey. 

To help make the charging experience as seamless as possible, Z has worked with Omexom to integrate the charge tags capability on to their existing on-site chargers, enabling their team to use the tags to charge at both Omexom’s office locations and on the go at Z service stations where EV charging is available.   

There are some barriers Omexom have faced in their electrification journey, including having a sufficient public charging network in the South Island. A significant portion of their operations are concentrated in the South Island, where charging infrastructure can be limited and driving distances may extend beyond an EV’s range. Response times are critical for Omexom when responding to power outages, and this has meant EVs are not feasible in some circumstances at this time. 

This is an example of a barrier that other businesses are likely to face and highlights the need for a more reliable and widespread charging network. Z hopes its growing EV charging network will help to address this barrier by providing coverage along some of New Zealand’s major routes and offering more charging options for EV owners. Z has recently opened a charging site at Z Queenstown - currently its most southern EV charging site. 

As the number of EV charging bays at Z sites continues to grow, the team at Z is looking forward to providing Omexom with additional locations to stop and re-charge on their travels.