Ministerial Review of Electricity Market Performance 2009

The electricity market review was initiated on 1 April 2009 and led by an independent Electricity Technical Advisory Group (ETAG), appointed by the Minister for Energy and Resources, with assistance from officials from the Ministry of Economic Development.

The ETAG members were Dr Brent Layton (Chair), Miriam Dean QC, David Russell, Professor Lewis Evans, Stephen Franks and Toby Stevenson.

A discussion document setting out the review team’s preliminary recommendations was released for public feedback on 12 August 2009 – 128 submissions were received on the document.

On 9 December 2009, the Minister for Energy and Resources announced the outcome of the electricity market review. The Government has agreed to 29 new measures to improve electricity market performance, which will be implemented by 1 October 2010.

The objective of the review is to improve performance of the electricity market and its institutions and governance arrangements in order to better achieve the government’s objectives for the electricity sector. A well-functioning electricity market should provide a reliable supply of electricity at competitive prices, that is, prices which are as low as possible consistent with ensuring reliable supply over the long term.

Summary of key decisions
Cabinet agreed on 7 December 2009 to the following package of measures to improve electricity market performance.

Background papers to review decisions
Background papers, including Cabinet paper and Regulatory Impact Statement, setting out the review team's final recommendations.

Submissions to Electricity Market Review
Submissions were invited by 16 September 2009 on the proposals set out in the discussion paper. The government received 128 submissions on the proposal, which can be viewed in PDF format.

Improving Electricity Market Performance discussion document
The following preliminary report to the Ministerial Review of Electricity Performance was prepared by the Electricity Technical Advisory Group and the Ministry of Economic Development.

Terms of Reference
The terms of reference for the Ministerial Review of Electricity Market Performance 2009.