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The recently announced Energy Competition Taskforce has announced "two packages of work that collectively aim to encourage investment in new generation, bolster competition and provide more opportunities for consumers to manage their own electricity use and costs" and said it is "serious about creating change". Of particular interest to Rewiring Aotearoa was the section about better rewarding customers to "encourage greater uptake of things like time-of-use pricing plans, rooftop solar and batteries, and demand response by industrial firms," as EA chair Anna Kominik said in a press release. This is positive and aligns with what we've been asking for and what we outlined in our symmetrical export tariffs paper, but it is important to note that these are not rebates. This is just cost-reflective two-way pricing that levels the playing field between small and large generators. As Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey says: "To date, every home giving energy back has been getting a bad deal. We believe their contribution to the system should be accurately priced and, as we said when the taskforce was announced, we want a level playing field, not just a slightly less uneven playing field." Casey says this pricing also needs to be mandatory otherwise the EA risks further delay to keeping bills down and building a more secure and resilient energy system. "We talk about guaranteeing investment signals on the big end of town. How about the average Kiwi got some guaranteed investment signals that are fair?"
The Task Force is investigating the eight initiatives listed below. It will present advice to the boards of the Commission and Authority for final decisions.
Package 1 – Enable new generators and new retailers to enter, and better compete in the market
• Consider requiring gentailers to offer firming for Power Purchase Agreements
• Introduce standardised flexibility products
• Prepare for virtual disaggregation of the flexible generation base as a backstop measure
• Investigate level playing field measures such as requiring gentailers to treat the retail arm of
their business the same as they treat other retailers (‘non-discrimination rules’), as a
backstop, which could be promptly deployed if other interventions are not effective.
Package 2 – Provide more options for end-users of electricity, options being considered include:
• Requiring distributors to pay rebates when consumers export at peak times
• Requiring all retailers to offer time of use pricing
• Requiring retailers to better reward consumers for supplying power by offering prices that reflect the value of the electricity at the time they supply it (eg, at peak times)
• Appropriately rewarding industrial consumers for the benefit their short-term demand flexibility brings to the system.
Visit www.ea.govt.nz/taskforce for more details on these measures.
And see how much more customers with solar and batteries exporting at peak times could be paid on our symmetrical export tariffs page.
There’s plenty of energy emanating from the ground at Te Puia in Rotorua. And there’s plenty of creative energy emanating from those studying at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. Now there’s also plenty of electric energy, because the business has upgraded its fossil fuel vehicles and added a big solar system so they can run on the sun.
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