Electricity Market Review Must Translate Into Action

“We welcome the terms of reference, but given we have already had many reviews, it is absolutely essential that this does not become another stack of paper that is forgotten about. Whatever comes of this review must translate into action that delivers a more competitive, affordable and secure electricity system or New Zealand consumers,” says Octopus Energy NZ Chief Operating Officer Margaret Cooney

“At a time when we need businesses and households to shift more of their energy usage to electricity, we are on track for a big increase in electricity costs for households and businesses. Time is ticking to course correct, and without change there is the potential high energy costs will tip the economy.

“Under the current settings, independent electricity retailers are squeezed out of the market, and potential generators can’t get their projects off the ground. The outcome of this is that new power companies can’t enter the market, and Kiwis are not getting a fair deal. With some changes to regulatory settings we can massively grow our electricity sector for the benefit of industry, consumers, and the environment.

“We have already seen this happen on our shores with the separation of Telecom into Spark and Chorus. That led to new retailers entering the telecommunications market and offering new products and competitive prices. Getting the same outcome for electricity would be less disruptive because the functions have already been split, we just need to put in rules to make it fair.

“In order to electrify more of the economy, we need to get more generation built and use technology to manage usage more smartly so that electricity is as cheap as possible. But this will simply not happen without the regulatory change to support better competition and investment,” says Margaret Cooney.

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