The Lines Company and Counties Energy partnership delivers first major milestone

20 July 2026

Five months ago, The Lines Company and Counties Energy announced a Shared Platforms and Services Partnership built on a simple idea: achieving better outcomes for customers faster and more efficiently, through shared capability.

Today, we’re pleased to share the first tangible result of that partnership.

The Lines Company’s new Outage Portal has been developed using Counties Energy’s Outage Hub – a proven platform that was adapted for our network and customers. Rather than building a solution from scratch, we were able to leverage existing expertise and proven technology across two organisations.

The result is a modern, customer-focused outage platform that provides real-time information, improved reliability and a better experience for TLC communities when they need it most.

But this project is about more than just a digital tool.

It demonstrates the power of genuine collaboration within the electricity distribution sector. By sharing platforms, knowledge and capability, we have reduced duplication, lowered development costs and accelerated delivery. This partnership meant that we could focus resources where they create the greatest value for customers.

“This is exactly the type of outcome we envisioned when we announced our partnership earlier this year,” said Counties Energy Chief Executive, Judy Nicholl. “It brings together the strengths of two organisations, enables teams to learn from one another and proves that collaboration can deliver real benefits in months rather than years.”

“Beyond the outage portal, our partnership model is scalable and transferable,” said TLC Chief Executive, Mike Fox. “The same principles that enabled this project can be applied to other initiatives and potentially across other electricity distribution businesses. In fact, since launching our Outage Portal earlier in June, we’ve received interest from other EDBs wanting to learn more about how such an approach can benefit them

“That’s encouraging. Not because it’s about the technology itself, but because it’s evidence that collaboration done well can create momentum across the sector,” said Fox

“This project is a great example of what’s possible when organisations focus less on ownership and more on outcomes, and the Outage Portal provides a strong foundation for future shared platform initiatives across both organisations,” continued Nicholl.

The Lines Company and Counties Energy look forward to building on this success and continuing to explore new ways of delivering value for customers and communities.