Consultation extended: more time to have your say on connection pricing proposals

You now have until 4 February 2026 to share feedback on the two main proposals in our consultation paper, Reducing barriers for new connections.

These proposals are our:

• targeted intervention to address inefficiently high up-front charges some face when wanting to connect to distribution networks (Part A in the consultation paper)
  
• approach for clarifying and introducing obligations on distributors so it’s clear when they must offer and maintain connections (Part B in the consultation paper)

Cross-submissions are now due by 5pm, 23 February 2026 to accommodate this extension.

Feedback on the proposed minor Code amendments (Part C in the consultation paper) is still due by 5pm, Friday 19 December 2025 with cross-submissions due by 5pm, Thursday 5 February 2026.

These proposed minor Code amendments aim to improve clarity of the Code wording and more accurately reflect the policy intent of the decisions announced in July 2025.

Later this week, we also expect to publish a summary of the feedback following our information request on vested assets and clarifications on our FAQ webpage related to these proposals.

The extension for providing feedback on the main proposals allows more time to consider this information.

If you would like to be notified when these documents are available online, please email connection.feedback@ea.govt.nz with ‘subscribe’ in the subject heading to join our mailing list for our work to make connecting to networks more efficient.

This consultation follows four new requirements for distributors, announced in July 2025, that progress towards more efficient, transparent and consistent pricing when connecting to networks.

View reducing barriers for new connections consultation