Consultation on Permitting ATHs to amend certification reports
In December 2017, we made an urgent amendment to the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 (Code) to enable approved test houses (ATHs) to amend certification reports for a metering installation or a metering component. In certain circumstances this would avoid the need to recertify. The urgent Code amendment expires on 12 October 2018. We propose updating the Code so the amendment continues past this date.
The consultation paper is available on our website. Submissions on the paper close on Tuesday, 5 June.
Workshop on the Authority’s 2018/19 work programme
We are facilitating a workshop to discuss our 2018/19 work programme priorities and potential projects. This was committed to in our 2018/19 levy-funded appropriations and work programme focus areas consultation paper and discussed at the April 2018 Regulatory Managers and Consumer Representatives meeting.
Your views on the 2018/19 work programme are valuable to us. They will help form the basis of our internal discussions before we present the proposed work priorities to our Board.
The workshop will be held at the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand building, Level 7, 50 Customhouse Quay, Wellington, on 1 May, from 10 am until 11.30 am, with morning tea provided.
Please RSVP by 27 April, to: conference@ea.govt.nz. We will email preliminary material to parties who have confirmed their attendance.
If you would like to submit written feedback following the workshop, please email submissions.mailbox@ea.govt.nz before 8 May.
We have published a decision paper Wind offer arrangements which sets out our decision to amend Parts 1 and 13 of the Code to:
enable wind farm owners to withdraw their generation in an efficient way when the spot market price is below their operating cost
prevent wind farm owners withdrawing large amounts of generation in ways that are not well coordinated.
These changes will promote efficiency and reliability in the electricity market by:
enabling the lowest-cost generators to be scheduled and dispatched
reducing the risk of under-frequency events, which can lead to supply interruptions.
The amendment will come into force once the system operator and NZX make enabling changes to the market systems. The decision paper is available on our website.
Decision paper published: Enhancing the market for Financial Transmission Rights
We have published a decision paper and summary of submissions on our Enhancement of Financial Transmission Rights (FTRs) project. We have decided to focus on:
helping participants to better understand the FTR market and how they can benefit from it
considering whether increased FTR auction transparency could support easier and more efficient trading.
We evaluated nine other potential developments to the FTR market. Several of the developments have some merit and will remain a consideration for the future.
The decision paper and summary of submissions are available on our website.
Call for nominations for Standing Data Formats Group
We’re calling for nominations for one distributor member to join the Standing Data Formats Group (SDFG). The SDFG provides independent advice to the Authority on information exchange protocols between:
participants and the market operation service providers
participants and consumers
participants and third party providers.
The group is currently advising on the method of transfer of notifications for EIEP5A planned outages and a proposal to mandate one reporting methodology for distributor billing for EIEP1.
We will appoint the successful nominee in May 2018 for an expected term of three years.
Nominations and accompanying documents should be emailed to marketoperations@ea.govt.nz, with 'Nomination for SDFG membership' in the subject line, by 5 pm on Tuesday, 8 May.
Further information about the nomination process and accompanying documents are available on our website.
Consultation on proposed guidelines for connection and electrical connection
We have published a consultation paper on our proposed connection and electrical connection guidelines. The guidelines discuss the process and Code requirements for connecting a point of connection (POC) to a network, and the subsequent electrical connection of the POC.
Consultation on proposed amendments to enable the system operator’s Dispatch Service Enhancement project
We have published a consultation paper on proposed amendments to the Code and the Approved Systems Document that would enable the system operator’s dispatch service enhancement (DSE) project.
The proposed amendments to the Approved Systems Document would allow for the current GENCO software to be replaced as the approved system used to issue electronic dispatch instructions. We also propose additional amendments to Part 13 of the Code that would increase the benefits from adopting new communication protocols for issuing electronic dispatch instructions.
