Gas
The Ministry has a lead role within government on the regulatory framework for the gas industry, ensuring that gas is delivered to existing and new customers in a safe, efficient, fair, reliable and environmentally sustainable manner.
The Ministry monitors and advises the Government on gas governance and industry arrangements to promote a smooth transition to the post-Maui environment. It advises the Government on the role for gas as a thermal fuel and on appropriate actions to ensure security of gas supply for existing and prospective gas-fired electricity generation.
The Ministry is responsible for advising the Minister of Energy on the recommendations from the Gas Industry Company (GIC) [link to GIC website] – the industry body of the gas sector – in the areas of gas processing, wholesaling, transmission, distribution and retailing as set out in the Government Policy Statement on Gas Governance October 2004. The Ministry also administers the Gas Act 1992.
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Gas Exploration Incentives
The Minerals Programme for Petroleum (released in January 2005) contains a package of initiatives to increase the level of petroleum exploration in New Zealand in the short and medium term.
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Gas Governance
Various gas governance and industry arrangements to meet the Government's policy objectives for the gas sector as set out in the Government Policy Statement on Gas Governance October 2004.
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Gas Control Inquiry
The gas pipelines services provided by Powerco and Vector are subject to control under Part 5 of the Commerce Act.
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Information Disclosure for Gas
Under the Gas (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1997, owners of gas pipelines are required to disclose certain prescribed financial and other information annually.
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Schedule of Domestic Natural Gas Prices
The Schedule of Domestic Natural Gas Prices, surveyed by the Resources and Networks Branch of the Ministry, presents a summary of distribution and retail gas prices to residential consumers.
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Archive
Gas sector topics which are no longer current can be found in the archive section. These documents may no longer be updated or contain the most current information but are still provided for your reference.
Within the Ministry
The Fuels and Crown Resources Group in the Energy and Communications branch is responsible for gas market policy.
The Energy Information and Modelling Group, also in the Energy and Communications branch, is responsible for gas sector statistics and projections. Latest gas statistics is available in Energy Data.
The Energy Safety Service (ESS) of the Business Services branch is responsible for the administration and development of the Gas Act, Regulations and New Zealand Gas Codes of Practice relating to safety, and quality and measurement of gas. ESS promotes safety, measurement and quality in the supply and use of fuel gases in New Zealand by audits, surveys, the investigation of accidents and incidents, development of standards, and the provision of satety information. Information gained by this work is used to feed back to improve legislation, standards and work practices or in the promotion of safety.
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