Consultation on guidelines to the dispatch-capable load station approval process
The system operator is seeking feedback on the 'Dispatch-Capable Load Station (DCLS) approval process guidelines' which arises from the Modified Option Dispatchable Demand (MODD) project. The purpose of the guidelines is to assist purchasers to obtain approval to become a dispatch-capable load station.
Submissions on this consultation paper should be sent directly to the system operator (marketservices@transpower.co.nz) and are due by 5pm on 22 April 2014
Submissions on the second consultation of the operational review of Part 6 of the Code have been published. We received 103 submissions (six of them confidential).
Retail electricity price increases have been the subject of recent media attention. The Authority is looking into claims about the sources of retail price increases so that all consumers can have correct information about the reasons for price changes.
The Authority will undertake this analysis in two phases. The phased approach is being adopted so that we can get results into the public arena in a timely fashion. We believe that the entire industry will benefit from clarity in this matter as soon as possible, but we also need to understand the national picture, hence the second part of this analysis.
The initial phase will check price rises in three of the largest regions serviced by lines companies Vector, Wellington Electricity, and Orion, as well as for the five largest retailers. The second phase will do the same exercise for the remaining lines companies and retailers.
The Electricity Authority has selected PA Consulting Group (PA) to undertake a fit-for-purpose review of five market operation service provider roles and their associated market systems.
The service provider roles that are to be reviewed are the registry manager, reconciliation manager, pricing manager, clearing manager and wholesale information trading system (WITS) provider. The scope of the review was outlined in Market Brief 17 Dec 2013.
PA will interview the incumbent service providers and selected industry participants to canvass views on how the systems and roles should be structured to best support the markets of the future. However, it is impractical to contact every participant individually. Any electricity industry participant that has views on the topic, but has not been contacted directly, is invited to contact Tim Robinson at PA tim.robinson@paconsulting.com to have their views considered. The information gathering phase will finish on 11 April 2014.
The Authority’s reporting site for market statistics and tools has also been updated.
The EMI (Electricity Market Information) website www.emi.ea.govt.nz replaces the existing www.reports.ea.govt.nz (although this site will remain live for the next couple of months). EMI is released in a beta version and is undergoing active development with new features and reports to be added.
EMI provides access to part of the Authority’s data warehouse. It will be used to publish data, market performance metrics, and analytical tools. EMI allows users to interrogate, view, and share data or visualisations from the site.
NZX consults on new draft settlement and prudential methodologies
The clearing manager, NZX, released a consultation paper (on 4 March 2014, not 3 March as reported in last week’s Market Brief) proposing draft methodologies for the new settlement and prudential arrangements that come into effect on 24 March 2015. The methodologies are for determining:
the settlement retention amount
the forward estimate of the minimum amount of security to be provided
general prudential requirements.
Submissions are due to NZX by 5pm on Tuesday 1 April 2014. After consideration of submissions, NZX will submit finalised methodologies to the Authority for approval.
Draft determination of causer of an under-frequency event: 22 February 2014
The system operator has made a draft determination on the causer of an under-frequency event on 22 February 2014. The draft determination has been published on the Wholesale Trading and Information System (WITS) and the system operator’s website. Submissions on the 22 February event should be forwarded to the system operator at market.services@transpower.co.nz by 5pm on Thursday, 3 April 2014.
Proposed Code amendments for FTR reconfiguration auctions
The Authority is consulting on proposed amendments to Part 13 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code. The proposed amendments are intended to facilitate the implementation and operation of reconfiguration auctions in the financial transmission rights (FTR) market.
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.
