SwitchDin submission to NZEA Issues Paper on Regulatory Settings for Distribution Networks

 

SwitchDin welcomes the New Zealand (NZ) Electricity Authority’s plan to apply the principles of transparency, standardisation and equal access to electricity data. 

The Electricity Authority recognises that data access is crucial for the development of a flexibility services market. Flexibility traders compete with retailers, so it’s a big problem when a retailer exercises monopoly control to block data access. The Electricity Authority proposes equal access to data by distributors and flexibility traders - to create a ‘level playing field’. 

No company should have monopoly control of customer data. Monopoly behaviour in the metering services market needs to stop. Initially, the Electricity Authority proposes regulatory changes so that: 

  • distributors and flexibility traders have equal access to data, free of interference by retailers, and

  • companies that monetise customer data are required to publish prices transparently.

These are both sensible suggestions.

Read our full submission and recommendations below:

 
SwitchDin