1. Pursuant to section 38(3)(b) of the Electricity Industry Act 2010, the Electricity Authority ("Authority") gives notice of the making of the Electricity Industry Participation (Demand-side Bidding and Forecasting) Code Amendment 2011.
2. The amendment comes into force as follows:
(a) The part of the amendment referred to in paragraph 3(a) below, on 28 March 2012; and
(b) the parts of the amendment referred to in paragraphs 3(b) to (i) below, on 28 June 2012.
3. The amendment provides for the introduction of demand-side bidding and forecasting by amending Part 1 and Part 13 of the Electricity Industry Participation Code 2010 ("Code"). The amendment:
(a) provides for a process for the Authority to determine grid exit points ("GXPs") as either conforming or non-conforming;
(b) provides for a rolling 36-hour (72 trading periods) schedule period;
(c) requires the system operator to make a central forecast of demand at conforming GXPs for each trading period in the schedule period;
(d) requires purchasers at non-conforming GXPs to submit bids called "nominated bids" for each trading period in the schedule period;
(e) relaxes the threshold that triggers an obligation on a purchaser to revise its bid at a non-conforming GXP;
(f) allows purchasers at conforming GXPs to submit bids called "difference bids" to signal an intention to respond to price;
(g) requires the system operator to prepare, and publish information from, a price-responsive schedule ("PRS") that utilises the central forecast of demand and all purchasers’ bids (quantities and prices), and a non-response schedule ("NRS") that utilises the central forecast and the quantities from purchasers’ nominated bids, but not the prices from those nominated bids, nor any information from difference bids;
(h) requires the system operator, every two hours, to prepare jointly a PRS and a NRS covering a 36-hour period; and
(i) requires the system operator, every half hour, to prepare a PRS and a NRS covering a 4-hour period.
4. A copy of the amendment and the Code is available on the Electricity Authority’s website at
www.ea.govt.nz/act-code-regs/code-regs/the-code/
5. A copy of the amendment and the Code may also be inspected free of charge or purchased from the Electricity Authority, Level 7, ASB Bank Tower, 2 Hunter Street, Wellington.
Dated at Wellington this 10th day of October 2011.
DR THOMAS BRENT LAYTON, Chairperson,
Electricity Authority.