1. Pursuant to section 172I of the Electricity Act 1992,
I notify the amendment of the Electricity Governance Rules 2003 ("the Rules") under section 172H of the Electricity
Act 1992.
2. The empowering provisions for the electricity governance regulations in relation to which the Rules are made are sections 172D (1) (6) (a) of the Electricity Act 1992.
3. A brief description of the nature of the amendments follows:
The amendments consist of changes to:
? the definition of "statement of opportunities" and of "grid reliability standards" in Part A, and to Rules 4.2 and 9.1 of section III of Part F, and the insertion
of the relevant defined terms used in those Rules
into Part A, to provide for a special process for
the first statement of opportunities, defined as the "initial statement of opportunities", and to use a set
of simplified grid reliability standards, defined as the "interim grid reliability standards"; and
? Rules 9.7 and 17.1 of section III of Part F, and to the cross references in the definition of "grid reliability standards" and of "statement of opportunities" in Part A, to correct typographical and cross-referencing type errors.
4. The amendments to Rules 9.7 and 17.1 of section III of Part F, and to the cross references in the definition of "grid reliability standards" and of "statement of opportunities"
in Part A, are made in reliance on section 172F (3)
(the Electricity Commission is satisfied that the effect
of the recommendation is minor and will not adversely affect the interests of any person in a substantial way) of
the Electricity Act 1992.
5. Pursuant to section 172Z (4) of the Electricity Act 1992, the reasons for my decision to amend the Rules are that:
? decisions about investment need to be made soon,
and the Government Policy Statement on Electricity Governance (GPS) gives the Electricity Commission a target date of September 2005 to make those decisions (assuming that a public conference is not required);
? the Electricity Commission has advised me that a compressed approach to the Part F process is required to achieve this date, and that the area of the statement of opportunities is the most practicable area to compress the process;
? the statement of opportunities is prepared for information only and, because the GPS required that it is revised and published every two years, any issues with a compressed process for the first year can be resolved in subsequent years;
? a statement of opportunities produced in early March 2005 would allow more time for participants to view the information presented, prior to the submission of the grid upgrade plan; and
? the amendments to Rules 9.7 and 17.1 of section III of Part F, and to the cross references in the definition
of "grid reliability standards" and of "statement of opportunities" in Part A, are to correct typographical and cross-referencing type errors.
6. These Rules come into force on 14 January 2005.
7. Copies of the Rules, including this amendment, may be inspected free of charge or purchased from the Electricity Commission, Level Seven, ASB Bank Tower, 2 Hunter Street, Wellington.
The Rules can also be viewed on the Electricity Commission web site:
http://www.electricitycommission.govt.nz/govern/regs/index.html
Dated at Wellington this 10th day of December 2004.
PETE HODGSON, Minister of Energy.