1. Pursuant to section 43R of the Gas Act 1992 (“Act”),
I notify the making of amendments to the Gas (Downstream Reconciliation) Rules 2008* (“Rules”) under section 43Q of the Act.
2. The empowering provision for the gas governance regulation in relation to which the Rules are made is section 43F(2)(a) of the Act.
3. The purpose of the Rules is to establish a set of
uniform processes that will enable the fair, efficient, and reliable allocation and reconciliation of downstream gas quantities. The amendments to the Rules:
(a) formalise the existing exemptions under which the allocation process is currently operating and ensure that allocated quantities balance with injection quantities, including:
(i) ensuring that all injected gas quantities are
able to be allocated in situations where no consumption information has been submitted, or where there is no consumption or where
zero data has been submitted for allocation groups 4 and 6;
(ii) establishing a zero floor so there can be no negative gas gate residual profile values and providing for the consequential scaling of daily allocations across all allocation groups to match injected quantities;
(b) allow Gas Industry Company Limited to give notice of specified file formats for additional information exchanges required by the Rules (ie to those from the allocation agent and those to Gas Industry Company Limited) and to enable the allocation agent to reasonably request additional information required to carry out its role under the Rules;
(c) more accurately reflect the role transmission system owners, and associated transmission arrangements, have in the downstream allocation process;
(d) improve the efficiency of the allocation and reconciliation process and reflect current best practice by amending various submission and reporting deadlines in the Rules; and
(e) include minor amendments mainly comprising technical or drafting corrections and clarifications.
4. Copies of the Rules are available:
(a) for inspection, free of charge:
(i) at the head office of the Ministry of Economic Development, 33 Bowen Street, Wellington, and at the head office of Gas Industry
Company Limited, Level 8, The Todd Building, 95 Customhouse Quay, Wellington (during normal office hours); and
(ii) on the websites of the Ministry of Economic Development
www.med.govt.nz
and Gas Industry Company Limited
www.gasindustry.co.nz
(b) for purchase at the head office of Gas Industry Company Limited, Level 8, The Todd Building,
95 Customhouse Quay, Wellington (during normal office hours).
Dated at Wellington this 27th day of August 2009.
HON PANSY WONG, Associate Minister of Energy and Resources.
*New Zealand Gazette, 29 May 2008, No. 89, page 2425