The Authority Board has approved a Code amendment that introduces a new regime for procuring extended reserve (including AUFLS). The new, more flexible regime will select which participants are required to provide extended reserve and how much they will need to provide. The amended Code promotes the Authority’s statutory objective because it provides long-term benefits to consumers. Consumers will benefit because the new provisions will increase power system security, efficiency and competition. Although the Code amendment will be effective from 7 August 2014, the new regime will be phased in gradually from then, once all elements of it have been developed and consulted on.

• Extended reserves – Authority decision

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The Wholesale Advisory Group’s recommendations paper on a national frequency keeping market is now available on our website. 

• Recommendations paper

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The Authority has calculated the annual levy rates for the financial year ending 30 June 2015 in accordance with regulation 7 of the Electricity Industry (Levy of Industry Participants) Regulations 2010.

The levy rates were gazetted on Thursday 3 July and are available on the Authority website.

• Levy rates

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On 27 June 2014, the Authority approved a settlement between Transpower New Zealand Limited as the system operator and Meridian Energy Limited. The settlement resulted from an investigation concerning the system operator’s failure to use information from Meridian Energy Limited about instantaneous reserves in preparing the price-responsive and non-response schedules. 

• Settlement

The investigation highlighted that there appears to be little participant awareness or monitoring of offers that the system operator had rejected. The settlement outcome is to improve the notification of offers that the system operator rejects. In the interim, participants making offers are reminded they need to have processes in place to check offers the system operator has rejected.   

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The Authority has appointed an investigator to commence two investigations of breaches of the Code by Transpower New Zealand Limited as the grid owner. Transpower reported the breaches following loss of supply events when assets were not capable of operating within the limits stated in the relevant asset capability statements. One of the investigations includes a possible breach of the Electricity Industry (Enforcement) Regulations 2010, concerning an apparent delay in reporting a security breach as soon as practicable. 

• Details of investigations

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On 27 June 2014, the Authority decided to discontinue the investigation of alleged breaches of the Code by NZX, as the pricing manager (pricing manager).  

The Authority as the market administrator alleged the pricing error in trading period 24 on 20 September 2013 was caused by the pricing manager not following the correct methodology for calculating interim prices. The market administrator  alleged the pricing manager did not weight the information about the HVDC capacity used over the trading period.

The investigator was not able to establish a breach of the Code by the pricing manager or any other participant because the particular clause in the Code is unclear and leaves room for various interpretations. 

• Further detail about the Authority's decision

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The June 2014 update on generation projects in development and future proposals is now available in the datasets folder on EMI, the Authority’s data website. 

• Updated dataset of proposed generation plant

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Normal frequency asset owner performance obligations

The Authority is consulting on normal frequency asset owner performance obligations

• Normal frequency asset owner performance obligations

Started: 10/06/2014; Ending: 22/07/2014 5pm

Proposed Code amendment - saves and early win-backs

The Authority is consulting on the effect on competition of saves and early win-backs

• Proposed Code amendment - saves and early win-backs

Started: 24/06/2014; Ending: 05/08/2014 5pm
 

Improving transparency of consumers’ electricity charges

The Authority is consulting on improving transparency of consumers’ electricity charges

• Improving transparency of consumers’ electricity charges

Started: 24/06/2014; Ending: 26/09/2014 5pm

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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 contracts as a standard section of its weekly Market Brief.

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