Introducing our Annual Report 2022/23

The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko’s Annual Report 2022/23 has been published. A resounding theme of the report is change as we welcomed a new leadership team and Board, and focused on supporting a changing electricity sector.

We would like to thank our stakeholders for welcoming our new leadership team and Board – and for your active participation and valuable insights throughout the year. Your input ensures we place our focus in the right places and supports us to make the right decisions at the right time.

The report reflects our 2022/23 performance, feedback from stakeholders, our key achievements and work to enable the transformation underway in the electricity sector. It shines a spotlight on the following case studies:

• Keeping the power on through winter: We developed 11 options to better manage the risks in winter 2023 and invited public feedback, narrowing these down to four implementable actions. These were actions that would provide the most benefit to consumers and that we could implement before winter. Thanks to the system operator and the support of the industry, all four actions were completed, and the benefits are already being realised.

• Ensuring the future security and resilience of the electricity system: Our future security and resilience multi-year work programme focuses on ensuring Aotearoa’s power system remains stable, secure and resilient during the transition at the least cost to consumers. We completed a review of Part 8 of the Code, established a technical group and ran three successful consultations.

• Enforcing compliance with electricity industry regulations and the Code: As a regulator, we educate, monitor and enforce compliance with the Electricity Industry Act 2010, its regulations and the Code. In 2022/23, the Board laid two formal complaints with the Rulings Panel who determines breaches, hears appeals against certain decisions and resolves certain disputes under the Code.

• Multiple trading relationships trial – enabling competition and innovation: The transition of the electricity system will be achieved through innovation, and we need to do our part to support this. In 2022/23, we approved two exemptions and amendments to the Code to enable energy sharing across selected Kāinga Ora housing. If successful, it could demonstrate how solar could be used to reduce energy hardship.

• Real-time pricing transforms the wholesale market: This year, we changed the way wholesale prices for electricity are calculated to better reflect real-time market conditions. This provides a more accurate and reliable pricing system while removing the guesswork for wholesale electricity buyers. It will also enable consumers to adjust their own electricity consumption with confidence in response to changes in pricing.

Our Annual Report describes our work over the last year to ensure the Authority continues to be a trusted regulator that ensures consumers have the benefit of competition and innovation, a reliable electricity supply at least cost, and the interests of small consumers are protected.