Members of the Distribution Connection Pricing Technical Group appointed

The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko is pleased to announce the appointment of 11 members to its new Distribution Connection Pricing Technical Group.

This group has been established to provide advice to the Authority as it investigates mandating efficient connection pricing.

The group members bring a range of sector knowledge and experience:

• Nathan Astwood, Firstlight Network – Commercial Manager
• Tarryn Butcher, Orion New Zealand – Pricing Manager
• Steven Cooper, Top Energy – Estimating Manager
• Alex Nisbet, EA Networks – Pricing Manager
• Stephen Peterson, Company Director and Industry Advisor
• Richard Sharp, Vector – General Manager Economic Regulation and Pricing
• Simon Shen, Northpower – Head of Commercial and Regulatory
• Sam Steele, EO Charging – Director of Commercial Operations and Board member of Drive Electric
• Jon Stone, Aurora Energy – Commercial Planning and Pricing Manager
• Howard Wood, Manawa Energy – Commercial Partnership Manager

Electricity Authority Senior Legal Counsel Catherine Marks has been appointed Chair.

All members have been appointed for a term of 10 months.

The Commerce Commission has nominated Tim Hewitt, Principal Adviser, Performance and Understanding, as an observer.

The Authority is working on rules to mandate efficient connection pricing as it believes some connection pricing settings may be resulting in inefficiently high upfront charges that could act as a barrier to electrification.

The Group will ensure stakeholder knowledge is captured in work on connection pricing, and assist with testing the workability of potential Code amendments. Efficient connection pricing rules will help access seekers and distributors optimise their investments, resulting in better use of the distribution network and lower costs to consumers.

About the Distribution Connection Pricing Technical Group