Energy Competition Task Force - request for level playing field measures

The Energy Competition Task Force was jointly established by the Electricity Authority and the Commerce Commission to investigate ways to improve the performance of the electricity market in the short to medium-term.

Initiative 1D of the Task Force work programme is investigating level playing field measures (such as non-discrimination rules) for use as a regulatory backstop if earlier steps are not effective. The work programme overview explains that:

The Task Force will investigate the pros and cons of various measures to ensure a level playing field between gentailers and independent retailers. It will help us understand what measures would be appropriate, the risks and possible triggers, and inform the development of a stronger regulatory response if other measures in this Task Force work package aren’t creating the change needed. Possible measures that will be investigated include non-discrimination rules, which would require generators to treat the retail arm of their operations the same as they treat other retailers.

We are calling for early input from stakeholders to help to ensure that our level playing field measures work is comprehensive. We are specifically seeking stakeholder input on:

• what level playing field measures we should be considering;
• practical examples of level playing field measures being implemented, preferably in comparable overseas electricity markets; and
• existing published work on level playing measures that stakeholders consider would usefully inform the Authority’s work.

We invite interested parties to provide input by 5pm on Tuesday 5 November 2024 to TaskForce@ea.govt.nz.