Upcoming consultation and webinar: proposals to reduce barriers for new connections

On Monday 17 November, we are publishing a consultation paper with proposals to address inefficiently high up-front charges some face when wanting to connect to distribution networks.

This consultation paper will also detail our proposed approach for clarifying and introducing obligations on distributors so it is clear when they must offer and maintain connections.

Decisions on both issues were deferred in July 2025 when the Authority announced two sets of rule changes to improve connection pricing methodologies and the application processes for connecting to networks.

The consultation paper will be available on the Authority website at 8am, Monday 17 November, and then at 9.30am we will host a webinar to provide an overview of these two issues, our current thinking, proposed solutions and how to share your feedback.

Register for the webinar

The proposals in this consultation paper bring together related issues from two multi-stage Authority work programmes:

1. Distribution connection pricing reform to make connection pricing methodologies more efficient and consistent across distributors.
2. Network connections project to improve the efficiency of connecting to distribution networks and upgrading existing connections.

If you would like to be emailed directly with updates on these two work programmes, email ‘subscribe’ to connection.feedback@ea.govt.nz. You can unsubscribe at any time.