Electricity Review focuses on energy poverty

Sunday, 15 July 2018, 6:44 pm
Article: NZ Energy and Environment Business Week

Electricity Review focuses on energy poverty

This report was first published in the Energy and Environment bulletin on July 11

The Electricity Review panel has outlined its thinking saying it is clear there are people who cannot afford to heat their homes, and something must be done to help them.

The letter to stakeholders says it still plans to release a report in early August based around seven issues, but it has not been able to consult as widely as it hoped.

The letter from the review Chair, Miriam Dean, says many have noted the terms of reference are broad making it vital to clearly identify the scope of its work.

As a result, there were seven topics the initial report would focus on:
• current prices
• generation and retailing
• transmission and distribution
• emerging technology
• consumer trust and confidence in the industry
• affordability
• regulatory framework.
The report would examine these from a current and future perspective.

Dean said “We are very grateful to those retailers who have co-operated with our recent data request. Some retailers have already provided their data. We are keenly aware that the request is detailed, but the data we are seeking is essential to understanding some of the issues involving consumers. (This data, by the way, has been collected by a number of the overseas reviews we have looked at.) We appreciate and thank you for your willingness to help”.

The need to publish a discussion paper as soon as possible has “meant we have necessarily had to be selective in our early engagement with stakeholders. Nonetheless, we feel we have met a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including consumer groups, budget advisers, iwi representatives, regulators, ministries, industry associations and industry participants. Although time-consuming, early engagement has proved very helpful. Again, thank you to those who have given freely of their time. I want to reassure everyone that more in-depth engagement will follow after the release of the discussion document.”

Work on the draft had begun, “It will not attempt to tell the whole story of what is happening in the sector, but rather to report on the results of our investigation to date. It will flag areas that need more investigation. Rest assured, we will not omit what is working well from our review”.

The primary purpose of the document is to stimulate informed discussion for the next stage of work. “Undoubtedly, views will differ on some topics, but we have already identified common positions on some key areas. A notable example is that some consumers are genuinely unable to afford such basics as heating their homes, and that something must be done to help them.”

The discussion document would need to be succinct and easily understood, “especially given the underlying emphasis of the terms of reference on consumer fairness and affordability”. As a result there will probably be separate working papers containing more technical or industry-specific information.

The plan is to release the document at the end of August after Cabinet approval.

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