Increased market oversight will benefit consumers and industry

The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko is increasing its industry and market monitoring to better ensure the market rules are working for consumers and deepen the insights we share with the sector. To enable this, we are changing the way we collect some information from market participants.

Where appropriate, we are replacing one-off requests for information (some are repeated at regular intervals) with single requests that require industry to provide us with information on an ongoing basis.

These single requests require consultation, so will give participants more opportunity to help shape the information they provide. For example, the type of data and level of detail to be collected. This more collaborative approach enables us to design a more enduring information gathering process by ensuring it is practical and not overly complicated.

We believe this approach will enable industry to streamline their reporting processes, as they will more often know in advance exactly what information they’re required to provide and by when.

While there will always be a need for some one-off information requests, we expect our move to more regular reporting will also benefit participants by reducing the number of one-off requests over time.

Collecting information is an important part of our role as a regulator. It enables us to monitor the market and ensure the regulatory settings are working in consumers’ best interests by promoting competition and supporting reliable supply and efficient operation of the industry. We use information collected to publish metrics, insights and research that facilitates wider and more informed engagement in important industry decisions.

One-off requests are issued under section 46 of the Electricity Industry Act 2010, and single requests for ongoing information are issued under clause 2.16 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code.

We have created a new Clause 2.16 notices webpage that shows all Electricity Authority information requests currently issued under clause 2.16.