The Authority has published its 2013 Year in Review. Highlights include details on the retail electricity market, increased switching and special offers, increase in smart meters, hydro changes, impacts on the wholesale market, and the hedge market. This is the third year that the Authority has published its Year in Review.
Call for nominations to the Retail and Wholesale Advisory Groups
The Authority is calling for nominations to fill vacancies in both the Retail Advisory Group (RAG) and the Wholesale Advisory Group (WAG). Both groups provide independent advice to the Authority Board.
The RAG advises on the development of the retail electricity market, encompassing the retailer, distributor and consumer interface.
The WAG provides advice on projects concerning the design of the wholesale electricity market, including wholesale electricity, ancillary services and risk management contracts.
The Authority invites nominations of people who:
can provide impartial advice
have a high level of integrity
possess a sense of public duty
are highly credible to people within the electricity industry
can speak with a considerable level of authority.
Nominations, using the form below, should be emailed to info@ea.govt.nz by 4pm Tuesday 22 April 2014, with ‘Nomination for Retail Advisory Group’ or ‘Nomination for Wholesale Advisory Group’, as appropriate, in the subject line.
Proposed amendments to Information System Definition
The Authority is consulting on proposed amendments to the Information System Definition (ISD). The proposed amendments reflect changes made to the Code since the ISD was last reviewed, and also include changes that will be required as a result of the Electricity Industry Participation (Modified Dispatchable Demand) Code Amendment 2013 coming into force on 15 May 2014.
NZX consults on new draft settlement and prudential methodologies
On 3 March 2014 the clearing manager, NZX, released a consultation paper 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 by participants
general prudential requirements.
Submissions are due to NZX by 5pm today, Tuesday 1 April 2014. After consideration of submissions, NZX will submit finalised methodologies to the Authority for approval.
The Authority held a half-day forum on the retail data project to discuss feedback on its January issues paper. We had sought feedback on issues relating to incomplete retail data and the lack of widespread confidence that the retail market is competitive and delivering benefits to consumers. We had also sought feedback on the preliminary options that might address the issues.
The forum was well attended by more than 60 people and included presentations by the Authority, Statistics NZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Transmission pricing methodology: working paper submissions published
On 21 January 2014, the Authority published a working paper to examine options for applying a beneficiaries-pay charge. This beneficiaries-pay working paper is one of the working papers informing a second TPM issues paper, which is due to be released in the second half of 2014. Submissions closed on 25 March 2014. We received 23 submissions and they are now available on our website.
Effective from Tuesday 1 April 2014, the Metering Technology Limited (METEC) class B Approved test house has closed its operations. Any enquiries relating to the metering components certified by this test house should now be addressed to the Metering Equipment Provider (MEP) which certified the metering installation that contains the METEC meters.
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.
Improving the efficiency of prices in pivotal supplier situations
The Authority is consulting on a proposal to improve the efficiency of prices in pivotal supplier situations. Please note that the deadline for submissions on this consultation paper is the day after Easter weekend.
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.
