Ministerial Inquiry
[ Last Updated 13 January 2006 ]
The Government has set up a Ministerial Inquiry into the Auckland Power Supply Failure with the following Terms of Reference:
The Government considers that it is important to carry out a review of the recent failures of Mercury Energy Ltd's cables to the Auckland CBD in order to establish what happened, why and lessons for the future. To this end the Government has established a Ministerial Inquiry to publicly inquire into and report to the Minister of Energy before the end of June 1998 on the following questions:
- What caused the power supply, and in particular, the power cables into the central business district of Auckland, to fail? Factors to be considered include:
- Organisational issues, including all aspects of governance structures, accountability arrangements and customer contracts
- Risk management and contingency planning
- Technical factors, including network design and quality, operating standards and practices, maintenance standards and asset management policy and practices, and the weather
- Any other relevant factors
- In light of the cable failure, to recommend changes to ensure that security risks relating to Mercury Energy's distribution lines are managed efficiently. Any recommendations should take into account the costs and benefits of any changes, including the costs of alternative measures to avoid or insure against outages
In undertaking the review the Inquiry shall:
- as soon as possible publish a report prepared by technical experts commissioned by the Inquiry on the technical factors in question 1 above;
- call for public submissions following publication of the technical report;
- not determine issues related to liability, breach of law, or compensation
- decide its own procedure.
Inquiry Members
The Government has appointed Mr Hugh Rennie QC as chairman and Mr Don Sollitt and Dr Keith Turner as members of the Inquiry. They are to inquire and report by the end of June 1998.
This notice sets out initial information about the Inquiry, and details on how to obtain further information and make submissions.
Inquiry Process
As directed by the Government, there will be two distinct stages to the Inquiry:
Stage 1
Technical reports have been commissioned into the cable failure. These will cover:
- A review of the distribution network planning and risk evaluation.
- The technical cause of the cable failure.
Stage 2
The Inquiry's consideration of the consultants’ technical reports and the further aspects covered by the Terms of Reference, taking into account the report prepared by technical experts and submissions made to the Inquiry.
Submissions and Provision of Information
Information may be forwarded to the Inquiry at any time. Any person who considers they have information relevant to the Inquiry is invited to forward it to the address below.
The Inquiry expects to publish the technical report in early May 1998.
Submissions may be forwarded now, but you are likely to provide a more useful submission if you wait for the technical report first. If you do not wish to wait for the report you can make submissions now.
We encourage submissions that concentrate on those points where you can make a real contribution from your knowledge or expertise. Please keep submissions brief, to the point, and with a summary of the content at the front. Please place any supporting detailed information in technical appendices.
Please keep the content to matters within the terms of reference.
Submissions should preferably be typed, and contain all you have to say. The Inquiry may invite persons (whether or not they have filed a submission) to appear to answer questions or provide further information. However a Ministerial Inquiry is an investigation, not a Court, and you may not receive such an invitation.
If you do not want to be considered for an invitation to attend and answer any inquiries, please state that with your submission.
Advance Notice of Intended Submissions
If you intend to make a submission, please register this with the Inquiry as soon as possible.
You do not have to do this. It does not commit you to provide a submission later. It does not prevent you from providing a submission after the technical report is issued.
But registration will help you and the Inquiry. We can send you relevant further information on the procedure, a copy of the overview of the technical report where appropriate, and plan the best use of sitting time. It will help us to plan venues and sitting times if we have this information now.
To register, send a short letter explaining your intentions to the address below.
Access to Submissions and Information
A list of all submissions will be issued after the submission closing date and will be available from the Secretariat on request.
If you wish to obtain copies of other submissions, you will be able to do so for the cost of copying. Details of how to do this will be included in the index.
We intend to accept submissions between now and about two weeks after the publication of the technical report.
In general it is not expected that submissions will be confidential, but the Inquiry can consider any special needs if you ask now.
Sittings of the Inquiry
If the technical report is completed and published as planned, in early May, then formal sittings of the Inquiry are planned for the last week of May and the first week of June. These will take place at Auckland.
Where Inquiry members require elaboration, explanation, or further information, this will be discussed with submitters at these sittings.
Full details of procedure will be provided before the sittings commence. At an inquiry, you can be assisted by lawyers or others in presenting your submissions. There are no formal speeches, and although Inquiry members may ask questions, there are no rights for other persons to ask questions or cross-examine.
As stated in the terms of reference, sittings of the Inquiry will be in public, except in any case where the Inquiry is persuaded that strong grounds for confidentiality require a private sitting to be held.
Notice of Submission Closure and Public Hearing Dates
When we publish the technical report, a further public notice will be inserted in the New Zealand Herald giving the closing date for submissions and the dates for the public sittings of the Inquiry.
How to Contact the Inquiry
Website Address
The Inquiry Website address is http://www.moc.govt.nz/inquiry
The Inquiry Terms of Reference, Public Notices and completed reports will be placed on the site as they become available.
Secretariat Address
To contact the secretariat, phone 0800 264 183. All mail, fax and courier material should be sent to the following address:
John Gilbert, Inquiry Manager
Inquiry into Auckland Power Supply Failure
PO Box 1473
WELLINGTON
Fax: 04-474 2193
Courier:
Level 5, Ministry of Commerce Building,
33 Bowen Street
Wellington.
The Inquiry can also be contacted on Wellington phone: 04-474 2696
HUGH RENNIE QC
Chairman | JOHN GILBERT
Inquiry Manager |