Decom Electrical

What Decom Electrical does

Decom Electrical Limited is a privately held New Zealand electrical engineering contracting company founded in 1995 following the privatisation of the PowerNet workforce. Headquartered at 49 Ythan Street in Invercargill, the firm provides specialised high-voltage infrastructure services to electricity distribution utilities and heavy industrial clients across the Southland and Otago regions of the Southern South Island. Its service portfolio spans the full project lifecycle, including substation construction and commissioning, HV network maintenance, electrical design, testing and commissioning of primary and secondary HV equipment (including protection relays and SCADA), HV utility services (switching, cable location, thermal imaging, power quality), and project management for multi-stakeholder builds. The firm has completed more than 200 projects of varying scale and complexity since inception.

Decom's customer base is concentrated in two segments. Electricity utilities (PowerNet, Electricity Invercargill, Aurora Energy, The Power Company) anchor the utility-side workload, with long-tenured relationships supporting recurring substation build/upgrade and network maintenance engagements. Heavy industrial clients (Fonterra, Alliance Group, SouthPort, Balance Agri Nutrients, Mataura Valley Milk, Open Country Dairy) provide a parallel stream of HV maintenance, fault response, and capacity-upgrade work tied to dairy decarbonisation, port operations, and agricultural processing. Pricing is project-based and quote-driven, with revenue generated through competitive tendering, RFQ processes, and direct client engagement; recurring maintenance contracts add a managed-services layer. The firm operates without external capital, digital distribution channels, or app/software products, and delivers services entirely through direct field contracting. Notable recent contract activity includes the December 2024 award of the Awarua/Kekeno 66/11kV substation build for PowerNet and a separate 66/11kV substation project for Open Country Dairy. In December 2025, founding partner Phil Johnston passed away, introducing a leadership transition event for the closely held company.

Name

Decom Electrical

Legal name

Decom Electrical Limited

Website

https://decom.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Decom Electrical is a New Zealand-based electrical engineering contractor founded in 1995, specialising in high-voltage substation construction, HV network maintenance, testing and commissioning, and project management for electricity utilities and heavy industrial clients in the Southland and Otago regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

High-Voltage Electrical Infrastructure Contracting

NAICS

Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors (23821)

SIC

Electrical Work (1731)

akta.pro primary industry

Electrical Contracting & Wiring (IMAFALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Substation Systems & Integration (EPC, Engineering, Protection, Commissioning) (IMAGAAAC), Cable Fault Location, Testing & Repair (MV/LV) (EUAEACAM)

Keywords

• High voltage electrical contracting
• Substation construction services
• HV network maintenance
• Electrical infrastructure design
• Testing and commissioning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Invercargill

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electrical Infrastructure Services: Project-based professional services revenue derived from electrical design, construction, testing, commissioning, and maintenance of high-voltage installations for utilities and industrial clients. Revenue is generated through competitive tendering and direct client engagements for specific projects.
2. Substation Construction Projects: One-time project-based revenue for design, construction, and commissioning of new substations or upgrades. Projects range from SCADA RTU installations to full substation build and commission jobs.
3. HV Network Maintenance Services: Recurring maintenance contracts with utilities and industrial clients for ongoing servicing of high-voltage equipment, including routine inspections, preventative maintenance, and fault response services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Decom Electrical is an electrical engineering contracting company that designs, builds, commissions, and maintains high-voltage substations and network infrastructure for electricity utilities and heavy industrial clients. The company delivers end-to-end HV services including substation construction, HV network maintenance, electrical design, testing and commissioning, HV utility services, and project management across the Southern New Zealand region.

Product overview

Decom Electrical is an electrical engineering contracting company offering a unified suite of high-voltage services rather than a modular software product. The core service portfolio includes: Substation Construction, Testing and Commissioning (design, build, and commissioning of HV substations); HV Network Maintenance (preventative maintenance and fault response for industrial and utility clients); Electrical Design Services (design for substations, voltage regulators, and protection systems); Testing & Commissioning (testing of HV cables, breakers, transformers, and SCADA); HV Utility Services (switching, cable location, thermal imaging, power quality); and Project Management (end-to-end project delivery for electrical infrastructure). These services are offered as integrated capabilities delivered by the same team, from design through construction to commissioning and maintenance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Substation Construction, Testing and Commissioning
• HV Network Maintenance Preventative maintenance and fault response services for high-voltage installations including switchgear, transformers, and cables for industrial and utility clients.
• Electrical Design Services Electrical design services including substation builds, voltage regulator installations, protection and control equipment retrofits, and industrial electrical upgrades.
• Testing & Commissioning Testing and commissioning services for primary and secondary high-voltage equipment including HV cables, circuit breakers, transformers, and SCADA systems.
• HV Utility Services Routine inspections, preventative maintenance, emergency repairs, fault diagnosis, HV switching, cable location, thermal imaging, and power quality measurement services for utility and industrial clients.
• Project Management Project management services for electrical infrastructure projects including planning, resource management, stakeholder communication, budgeting, and subcontractor coordination.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully completed 200+ projects ranging from small SCADA RTU installations to full substation build and commission jobs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PowerNetcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024Long-term strategic relationship as primary contractor for design, construction and project management services. Decom provides specialist HV expertise to PowerNet for substation projects and network maintenance. Major projects include Colyer Rd, Athol, Monowai, South Gore Substations, and most recently the Awarua/Kekeno Substation project awarded December 2024.
• FonterracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 20-year relationship providing comprehensive HV maintenance services, fault finding and repair, power quality analysis, relay protection testing, and larger installation projects across Fonterra's dairy processing facilities.
• Electricity InvercargillcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDistribution utility client for critical infrastructure projects including Spey Street Substation relocation from Doon Street to reinforce Invercargill city electricity supply, completed 2017.
• Aurora EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContract engagement for project management services on Dunstan Substation construction in Clyde, managing multiple subcontractors for new 33/11kV substation.
• BabbageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction partnership on Mataura Valley Milk Project, installing 7km of underground 33kV cable linking to Gore Substation plus on-site 11kV infrastructure. Described as building a strong working relationship based on trust.
• Alliance GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial high-voltage client for meat processing facilities, receiving maintenance services for electrical infrastructure.
• SouthPortminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustrial high-voltage client for port operations, receiving maintenance services for electrical infrastructure.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Decom Electrical