WA company Power Ledger is taking its peer to peer energy trading platform across the Tasman and has signed a deal with NZ distributor Vector.

The system enables an individual who has solar power or batteries to sell any surplus energy they generate to someone else, bypassing the traditional electricity retailer.

A NZ  trial is to get under way in December this year involving 500 sites in New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland. Schools, community groups, and households will be involved, Vector said in a statement.

Chief Executive  of Vector, Simon MacKenzie said the new system would empower consumers “to better manage and profit from their energy supply and demand.”

Power Ledger is a Perth-based start-up and uses the Blockchain software that underpins the digital currency, Bitcoin, in order to identify who has generated the energy and therefore who owns it.

An eight-week trial involving 10 households in Busselton, south of Perth got underway this month, with talks underway on a more advanced trial in the city to follow next year.