RFP for service provider software review
The Authority released a Request for Proposals (RFP) on 13 December 2013 seeking proposals to undertake a review of five market operation service provider roles and their associated information and communication technology (ICT) systems.
The market operation service provider agreements between the Authority and NZX Limited, Energy Clearing House Limited, and Jade Software Corporation (NZ) Limited are in effect until April 2016. The agreements cover the following roles:
- pricing manager
- reconciliation manager
- wholesale information trading system (WITS) provider
- clearing manager
- registry manager.
Prior to April 2016 the Authority will make a decision about whether to re-tender some or all of these roles or roll the contracts over for a further three years.
To inform this decision, the Authority wishes to understand whether these market operation service provider roles, and the ICT systems they utilise, are likely to be fit-for-purpose beyond April 2016.
The RFP documents are available via the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS).
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Review of switching requirements
The increasingly complex nature of metering and retail electricity arrangements that comes with advanced metering has implications for the installation control point (ICP) switching process. Changes made during the implementation of the new Part 10 have improved the efficiency of this process, and a full review has now been completed that has identified further potential improvements.
The Authority intends publishing a consultation paper later this week. The consultation closes on 28 February 2014. |
Transmission pricing methodology forum on the beneficiaries-pay working paper
The Authority is planning to release its transmission pricing methodology working paper on beneficiaries-pay options on 21 January 2014. The Authority will provide an overview of the working paper at a forum to be held in Wellington on 29 January 2014. The forum will also provide an opportunity for interested parties to clarify any details of the working paper with the Authority.
The forum will be held at the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, Level 7, Tower Building, 50 Customhouse Quay, Wellington. It is anticipated that the forum will commence at 10 am.
People interested in attending the forum should email their name and contact details to info@ea.govt.nz with ‘TPM Forum’ in the subject line. Registrations should be received by the Authority no later than 5pm on Wednesday 15 January 2014. An agenda, and confirmation of the start time, will be published nearer the time. |
Submissions on Under-Frequency Management (UFM) initiatives consultation
On 29 October 2013 the Electricity Authority published a consultation paper that proposed an approach to improve the granularity of event data submitted by parties that provide fast instantaneous reserves (FIR).
Submissions closed on 2 December 2013.
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Evaluation of distribution pricing methodologies
The Authority engaged Castalia Strategic Advisors in April 2013 to undertake an independent review of the pricing methodologies published by New Zealand’s 29 distributors. The review assessed the alignment of each distributor’s pricing methodology with the Authority’s information disclosure guidelines and voluntary pricing principles.
The Authority has now published Castalia’s report and the evaluations for each distributor. The Authority will now review the report and evaluations and consider its response, with a view to consulting on a proposal in March 2014.
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Annual review of the system operator’s performance
The Authority’s annual review of the system operator’s performance is now published. The conclusion of this review is that the system operator is generally achieving good outcomes, and has shown very good improvement in a number of areas that the Authority has previously highlighted as needing work. The principal performance obligations have been met or exceeded and compliance with the Code has been satisfactory.
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Code amendments for the new settlement and prudential security regime
The Authority has made and gazetted an amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (Code) to change the settlement and prudential security arrangements for the wholesale electricity market.
The changes are expected to enhance retail competition and industry efficiency and reduce credit risk for generators.
The Authority intends to undertake consultation early next year to seek further views on disconnection procedures for direct connect consumers that purchase their electricity from the clearing manager.
The Code amendments are expected to come into effect on 24 March 2015, providing time for the clearing manager to develop and consult on detailed procedures and systems and time for participants to prepare for those new procedures.
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Code amendments for the modified dispatchable demand regime
The Authority has gazetted the Electricity Industry Participation (Modified Dispatchable Demand) Code Amendment 2013 that replaces the original dispatchable demand design which was made on 20 October 2011.
The Code amendment comes into force on 15 May 2014.
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Exemptions
The Authority has granted and gazetted two new exemptions:
- the Authority has granted Flick Energy Limited an exemption (No. 186) from complying with the obligation in clause 15.38 of the Code to obtain and maintain certification
- the Authority has granted AccuCal Limited an exemption (No. 188) from complying with the obligation in clause 1(1)(a) of Schedule 10.5 of Code in respect of providing its initial metering equipment provider audit by 28 February 2014.
The full Gazette notices, including reasons for the approval of each, have been published on the Authority’s website. The exemptions came into force on 13 December 2013 and can be found on the exemptions page.
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Updated reserve supply determination
The Authority has clarified and updated its reserve supply determination in order to align it with the updated security of supply forecasting and information policy, and to simplify the wording.
The purpose of the reserve supply determination is to ensure the continued effectiveness of resource consents granted with reference to the Electricity Commission’s arrangements for security of supply that were in force at the time.
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Updates to three system operator documents in the Code
The Authority has approved changes to three system operator documents incorporated in the Code. The documents are the system operator’s:
- Ancillary Services Procurement Plan. Previously titled the procurement plan, the ancillary services procurement plan sets out the system operator’s approach and requirements for the procurement of ancillary services such as frequency-keeping and instantaneous reserves. The new ancillary services procurement plan became effective on 1 December 2013.
- Policy statement. The policy statement sets out the policies and means considered appropriate for discharging the system operator’s operational responsibilities. The updated policy statement became effective on 16 December 2013.
- Security of supply forecasting and information policy (SOSFIP). The SOSFIP sets out the short- to medium-term forecasting that the system operator will publish to quantify New Zealand’s security of supply. This includes publication of the hydro risk curves and risk meter that can trigger the declaration of an official conservation campaign. The updated SOSFIP became effective on 16 December 2013.
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Migration of registry FTP interactions to SFTP
In 2010, the Authority released a consultation paper on shifting data interactions between participants and the electricity registry to a more secure type of transmission channel. After submissions were reviewed, the Authority agreed to implement Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). Over the past two years, the Authority has been encouraging use of SFTP, and some existing participants have already transferred their transmission channel to SFTP, and in November 2013 FTP was closed to new participants. To ensure the integrity of file transfers between participants and the registry, the Authority will be closing FTP to all existing participants from 31 December 2014.
All participants will need to migrate their registry data files to SFTP by 31 December 2014. The Authority strongly encourages participants to migrate earlier than this, preferably in the first half of 2014. For further information and assistance with converting to SFTP please contact the Registry Manager at registry.engineer@jadeworld.com
The Authority is also sending a memo to all registered electricity registry users. If you need to update your contact details please contact registry.engineer@jadeworld.com or marketoperations@ea.govt.nz |
Wellington Anniversary Day (20 January 2014): non-business day
The market administrator gives notice to participants that Monday 20 January 2014 (Wellington Anniversary Day) is declared not to be a business day. |
Electricity Authority holiday business hours
The Electricity Authority will close for the Christmas holiday period at midday on Tuesday, 24 December 2013, and re-open at 8.30 am on Friday, 3 January 2014. |
Next Market Brief
This is the final edition of Market Brief for 2013. The first edition of Market Brief for next year is planned for Tuesday 21 January, 2014. We would like to wish you all season’s greetings and a happy, relaxing and healthy holiday |
Current consultations
Transmission Pricing Methodology: Avoided cost of transmission payments for distributed generation
The Authority is consulting on the working paper on avoided cost of transmission payments (ACOT) for distributed generation, which sets out to understand the efficiency implications of any changes to the TPM in relation to ACOT payments.
Started: 19/11/2013, Ending: 31/01/2014 5pm
An operational review of Part 6 of the Code - second consultation
The Authority is undertaking a second consultation on the operational review of Part 6 of the Code. Part 6 relates to the connection of distributed generation. After consideration of the submissions received on the first consultation paper, the Authority has revised a small number of the proposals and now seeks submissions on these revised proposals.
Started: 03/12/2013, Ending: 31/01/2014 5pm
Consultation on FTR settlement in event of a delay to final prices
The Authority is consulting on changes to the clearing manager invoices to:
- allow flexibility for invoicing timeframes if the publication of final prices is delayed
- enable the clearing manager, if it receives revised reconciliation information after issuing invoices, to either prepare revised invoices or seek direction from the Authority, depending on when it receives the revised reconciliation information.
Started: 10/12/2013, Ending: 10/02/2014 5pm |
NZ electricity hedge contract - 13 December 2013
 Information plays an important part in building market confidence and strength.
To assist interested parties in tracking market development, the Authority publishes NZ electricity hedge contacts as a standard section of its weekly Market Brief.
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