New Zealand Acts

COMMERCE ACT 1986 - SECT 54R

54R Approval of Transpower's grid upgrade plans

1 The role of the Electricity Commission in requesting or approving grid upgrade plan proposals by Transpower (including proposals to amend existing grid upgrade plans) is transferred to the Commission on the commencement date.

2 Subsection (1) applies both to proposals made on and after the commencement date and to any proposals that were requested or under consideration by the Electricity Commission before the commencement date.

3 Until the input methodology required by section 54S is determined and published as referred to in section 52W ,—

a) Transpower must comply with Part F of the Electricity Governance Rules, as that Part relates to grid upgrade plan proposals; and

b) when considering grid upgrade plan proposals, the Commission—

i) must apply, with any necessary modifications, the grid investment test set out in Schedule F4 of Part F of the Electricity Governance Rules; and

ii) must apply, with any necessary modifications, those parts of section III of Part F of the Electricity Governance Rules that relate to the process for approving grid upgrade plans (which includes rules 12 to 15 and 17.2); and

iii) need not repeat any processes already undertaken by the Electricity Commission or undertake any processes that the Electricity Commission would have been required to undertake.

4 To avoid doubt,—

a) subsection (1) takes effect on the commencement date whether or not the Commerce Act (Transpower Thresholds) Notice 2008 or any administrative settlement between the Commission and Transpower has been amended to reflect the transfer referred to in that subsection; and

b) nothing in this section affects the transfer from the Electricity Commission to the Electricity Authority of all other roles relating to transmission, such as setting grid reliability standards and the transmission pricing methodology.

5 The Commission may change any timetables previously agreed for consultation on, and approval of, grid upgrade plan proposals, but must first consult Transpower on any timetable changes.

6 To facilitate the transfer of roles referred to in subsection (1), the Electricity Authority must give the Commission copies of all information it holds regarding grid upgrade plan proposals that were under consideration by the Electricity Commission before the commencement date.

7 In this section,—  
"commencement date" means 1 November 2010    
"Electricity Governance Rules" means the Electricity Governance Rules 2003 as they were immediately before their revocation by the Electricity Industry Act 2010     
"grid upgrade plan" has the meaning set out in the Electricity Governance Rules.  

History: Section 54R: substituted, on 1 November 2010, by section 155 of the Electricity Industry Act 2010 (2010 No 116).   Section 54R(3): amended, on 28 October 2021, by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).