New Zealand Acts

ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY ACT 2010

- As at 30 March 2025
- Act 116 of 2010

TABLE OF PROVISIONS

   1.      Title
   2.      Commencement
   2A.     Transitional, savings, and related provisions
   3.      Act binds the Crown

   PART 1 - Preliminary provisions
   DEBUG 4. Purpose

   5.      Interpretation
   6.      Extended meaning of breach
   6A.     Meaning of involved in

   PART 2 - Electricity industry governance

           SUBPART 1 - Who does what
           Note

   7.      Industry participants
   8.      Transpower is system operator
   9.      Obligation to register and comply with Code
   10.     Exemption from obligation to register
   11.     Exemption from obligation to comply with Code
   12.     Authority established
   13.     Membership of Authority
   14.     Independence of members of Authority
   15.     Objectives of Authority
   16.     Functions of Authority
   17.     Statements of government policy
   18.     Reviews on request by Minister
   19.     Charter about advisory groups
   20.     Security and Reliability Council
   21.     Other advisory groups
   22.     Application of Crown Entities Act 2004
           Note
   22A.    Minister may establish Small Electricity Consumers Agency
   22B.    Function of agency
   23.     Continuation of Rulings Panel
   24.     Membership of Rulings Panel
   25.     Function of Rulings Panel
   26.     Funding of Rulings Panel and remuneration of members

           SUBPART 2 - Registration

   27.     Register of industry participants
   28.     Transfer of old information to register
   29.     Registration and requirement to update information
   30.     Ceasing to be registered
   31.     Offences relating to registration

           SUBPART 3 - Electricity Industry Participation Code

   32.     Content of Code
   33.     Status of Code
   34.     Content of initial Code
   35.     Certification of draft Code
   36.     Code comes into force
   37.     Making Code accessible
   38.     Authority amends Code
   39.     Consultation on proposed amendments
   40.     Urgent amendments to Code
   40A.    Revocation of urgent amendments
   41.     Authority to publish consultation charter
           Note
   42.     Specific new matters to be in Code
   43.     Minister may amend Code to include new matters
           Note
   44.     Transmission agreements
   44A.    Distribution agreements
   44B.    Minister may amend Code to include specified matters
           Note
   44C.    Interpretation
   44D.    Not interconnected under Commerce Act 1986
   44E.    Illegal contracts
   44F.    Substance matters, not form

           SUBPART 4 - Monitoring and enforcement

   45.     Purposes of exercise of Authority's monitoring, investigation, enforcement, and review powers
   46.     Authority's monitoring, investigation, enforcement, and review powers
   47.     Power to search
   47A.    Sharing of information and documents with public service agencies, statutory entities, gas industry body, and overseas regulators
   47B.    Authority may impose conditions on provision of information or documents
   48.     Privileges protected
   49.     Authority may suspend trading in case of insolvency
   50.     Complaints, appeals, and disputes
   51.     Interim injunctions
   52.     Limitation periods for breaches of Code
   53.     Powers and procedures of Rulings Panel
   54.     Remedial orders for breach of Code
   55.     Restrictions on remedies
   56.     Pecuniary penalty orders
   57.     Offence to breach certain orders of Rulings Panel
   58.     Suspension and termination for breach of certain Rulings Panel orders
   59.     Effect of suspension and termination orders
   60.     Offences relating to suspension and termination orders
   61.     Powers in relation to appeals and disputes
   62.     Orders generally
   63.     Appeal on ground of lack of jurisdiction
   64.     Appeal on question of law
   65.     Appeal against certain orders of Rulings Panel
   66.     How and when appeals made
   67.     Determination of appeals
   68.     High Court may refer appeals back for reconsideration
   69.     Provisions pending determination of appeal
   70.     High Court may order proceedings be heard in private
   71.     Appeal to Court of Appeal in certain cases

   PART 3 - Separation of distribution from certain generation
   Note

           SUBPART 1 - Separation of distribution from certain generation
           Note
           Note

   72.     Purpose of this Part
           Note
   73.     Ownership separation
   74.     Meaning of involved in
           Note
   75.     Ownership separation
           Note
   76.     Corporate separation and arm's-length rules applying to distributors and connected generators and connected retailers
           Note
   77.     Use-of-systems agreements
   78.     Person involved in distributor must not pay for transfer of retail customers to connected retailers
   79.     No discrimination when paying rebates or dividends

           SUBPART 2 - Enforcement and general provisions

   80.     Pecuniary penalties
   81.     Injunctions
   82.     Actions for damages
   83.     Other powers to give directions, reopen agreements
   84.     Miscellaneous provisions relating to civil proceedings under this Part
   85.     Application of Commerce Act 1986 provisions
   86.     Additional proceedings
   87.     Application to persons outside New Zealand
           Note
   88.     Disclosure of information to Authority
   89.     Directors must report compliance with arm’s-length rules
   90.     Exemptions
   91.     Application of Commerce Act 1986
   92.     Not interconnected under Commerce Act 1986
   93.     Illegal contracts
   94.     Substance matters, not form

   PART 4 - Industry participants and consumers

           SUBPART 1 - Dispute resolution

   95.     Complaints about Transpower, distributors, and retailers
   95A.    Indemnity disputes
   96.     Membership of dispute resolution scheme
   97.     Compliance with rules and binding settlements
   98.     Offence to fail to comply with District Court order

           SUBPART 2 - Financial statements of customer and community trusts

   99.     Customer and community trusts must prepare and submit for audit financial statements
   100.    Publication of audited financial statements
   101.    Auditor of trusts
   102.    Procedures for annual meeting to appoint auditor
   103.    Auditor-General to be auditor if no other auditor appointed
   104.    Offences, enforcement, and application of sections 99 to 103

           SUBPART 3 - Continuance of supply

   105.    Continuance of distributors' supply obligation
   106.    Cessation and suspension of supply obligation
   107.    Proposal to supply electricity from alternative source
   108.    Application of other enactments

   PART 5 - Miscellaneous

           SUBPART 1 - Regulations

   109.     Regulations identifying industry participants and market operation service provider roles
   110.    Class exemptions relating to registration and Code compliance
   111.    Class exemptions relating to membership of dispute resolution scheme
   112.    Regulations relating to monitoring, investigating, and enforcing Code
   113.    Regulations about tariffs and other consumer issues
   113A.   Regulations about small business consumers
   114.    Regulations promoting accountability in customer trusts and community trusts
   115.    General regulation-making power

           SUBPART 2 - State-owned enterprise asset reconfiguration and miscellaneous matters

   116.    Interpretation for subpart
   117.    Directions that may be given by shareholding Ministers
   118.    Process for giving directions
   119.    Legal effect of directions
   120.    Purposes of sections 121 to 126
   121.    Process for Meridian and Genesis to recommend changes to permit conditions in respect of Waitaki Power Scheme
   122.    Minister may change permit conditions by order
   123.    Existing agreements with other parties in respect of Waitaki Power Scheme
   124.    Reconfiguration of existing agreements
   125.    Other provisions about directions
   126.    Interface with Resource Management Act 1991
   127.    Whirinaki
   128.    Levies
   129.    Authority consultation about request for appropriation
   129A.   Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority consultation about request for appropriation
   129B.   Small Electricity Consumers Agency consultation about request for appropriation
   130.    Specific authorisations for purposes of Commerce Act 1986
   131.    Distributors and grid owners exempt from liability for certain outages

           SUBPART 2A - Secondary networks
           Note

   131A.   Application of electricity industry legislation to secondary networks

           SUBPART 2B - Material incorporated by reference
           Note

   131B.   Material incorporated by reference

           SUBPART 3 - Transitional and consequential provisions

   132.    Interpretation
   133.    Electricity Commission dissolved
   134.    Consequences of dissolution
   135.    References in documents to Electricity Commission
   136.    References to reserve generation capacity in resource consents
   137.    Transferred employees
   138.    Government Superannuation Fund
   139.    Complaints, investigations, etc, transfer to Authority
   140.    References to Electricity Governance Rules 2003 and certain regulations
   141.    Members of Rulings Panel
   142.    Work of Rulings Panel
   143.    Investigations relating to separation of distribution from generation and retailing
   144.    Exemptions granted under Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998

           SUBPART 4 - Amendments to other enactments

   145.    Amendments to Commerce Act 1986
   146.    Interpretation
   147.    Matters covered by input methodologies
   148.    Commission's costs in setting customised price-quality path
   149.    Interpretation for subpart
   150.    Meaning of electricity lines services
   151.    Definition of consumer-owned
   152.    How exempt status can be lost and default/customised price-quality regulation can be applied to consumer-owned suppliers
   153.    Administrative settlements with Transpower made before 1 April 2009
   154.    Proposals for customised price-quality paths
   155.    New heading and sections 54R and 54S substituted
   156.    New section 54V substituted
   157.    Amendments to Energy (Fuels, Levies, and References) Act 1989
   158.    Part 2 repealed
   159.    Purpose of levies
   160.    Amendments to Electricity Act 1992
   161.    Purposes
   162.    Interpretation
   163.    New section 43A inserted
   164.    Consequential amendments and repeal of spent provisions
   165.    Repeal of Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998
   166.    Amendments to other enactments
           SCHEDULE 1
           SCHEDULE 2
           SCHEDULE 3
           SCHEDULE 4
           SCHEDULE 5
           SCHEDULE 6