Electricity regulator finds confidence in market may have been threatened
21 Dec, 2020 06:59 PM
3 minutes to read
A major investigation by the electricity regulator has concluded that behaviour of generators in December 2019 could have dented confidence in the wholesale electricity markets.
While the Electricity Authority (EA) said its investigation into whether an undesirable trading situation (UTS) was not necessarily about attributing blame , the report points in particular at the actions of Meridian Energy, New Zealand s largest electricity generator.
The conclusion could see the regulator reset prices in the wholesale electricity market for a three week period. A separate process will seek to determine whether any companies breached the trading standards of the electricity market.
Tuesday, 22 December 2020, 8:44 am
The Electricity Authority’s Board has concluded its
investigation of the undesirable trading situation (UTS)
claim made by Haast Energy Trading, Ecotricity, Electric
Kiwi, Flick Energy, Oji Fibre, Pulse Energy Alliance and
Vocus (the ‘claimants’) in late December 2019.
The
Authority has found there was a UTS between 3 December and
27 December 2019.
James Stevenson-Wallace, Chief
Executive of the Authority says, The Authority has
investigated all aspects of the claim, carefully considered
all submissions and concluded there was an undesirable
trading situation between 3 December 2019 and 27 December
2019. What we found in the wholesale market during
the UTS period were far from normal outcomes given the
Lack of competitive pressure leads to an undesirable trading situation - EA voxy.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from voxy.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
An undesirable trading situation (UTS) is a situation outside the normal operation of the electricity market that threatens, or may threaten, confidence in, or the integrity of, the wholesale market and which cannot be addressed by other provisions of the Electricity Authority’s code. The authority confirmed on Tuesday that there was a UTS between December 3 and December 27 last year. It will consult early next year on proposals to correct the situation. ”What we found in the wholesale market during the UTS period were far from normal outcomes given the conditions at the time,” said Electricity Authority chief executive James Stevenson-Wallace.
Lack of competition pushed up prices, Electricity Authority says stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.