Mentions of Transpower New Zealand Limited in New Zealand Parliament debates
Transpower New Zealand Limited has been mentioned in 73 parliamentary debates since November 2005.
Estimates Debate - In Committee
In Committee 2 Aug 2011
DAVID BENNETT ... have major infrastructural investment. We can see that in the broadband investment, the roading investment, and the Transpower investment. We are building the infrastructure of New Zealand so that we can grow the economy. We have rebuilt ...
Broadcasting
Broadcasting, Diplomatic Incident—Resignation Agreement 12 Oct 2010
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN ... not. I refer that member to the precedent set by his colleague Trevor Mallard in 2008, when Ralph Craven departed as Transpower boss. Trevor Mallard said at that stage that Ministers were not responsible for the work of chief executives and staff,...
Financial Markets (Regulators and KiwiSaver) Bill, Auditor Regulation and External Reporting Bill - First Reading
First Reading 23 Sep 2010
Hon DAVID PARKER
... What happened was that Mr Bradford so deregulated electricity transmission that there was a written agreement between Transpower New Zealand, which owned the national grid, and the energy companies. The agreement said that Transpower could only ever invest in ...
... What happened was that Mr Bradford so deregulated electricity transmission that there was a written agreement between Transpower New Zealand, which owned the national grid, and the energy companies. The agreement said that Transpower could only ...
Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Bill
Second Reading 29 Jul 2010
AARON GILMORE ... I think that is a really good thing, particularly for big State-owned enterprises like Solid Energy, KiwiRail, and Transpower, as well as other big entities operating in the infrastructure sector. I think it is highly positive that the hard-work...
General Debate 28 Jul 2010
JO GOODHEW ... upgrading electricity transmission. We are investing $3.3 billion to help ensure the security of supply, and there is Transpower’s $672 million on the interisland electricity connection upgrade, which was kicked off in April this year. That is ...
Estimates Debate - In Committee
In Committee 27 Jul 2010
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE ... in securing the quality of the transmission network in New Zealand. Since coming into Government we have approved Transpower’s expenditure of some $5 billion to strengthen that network over the coming years but, most important, we have ...
Appropriation (2009/10 Supplementary Estimates) Bill, Imprest Supply (First for 2010/11) Bill - Second Readings
Second Readings 22 Jun 2010
Hon STEVEN JOYCE ... investments, which are massive for New Zealand. The bit that still amazes me whenever we talk in Cabinet about Transpower is that it did not actually get done under the previous Government. There were these massive and important investments—...
Hon STEVEN JOYCE ... time? I know what they were doing: they were rearranging the governance model. That was all they were doing. Now Transpower is investing massive amounts of money in New Zealand’s electricity grid. All this stuff helps. It is very exciting to ...
General Debate 5 May 2010
Hon STEVEN JOYCE We are making massive investments. For example, we have invested massively in Transpower for electricity transmission, in roading with $11 billion for new State highway infrastructure in the next 10 years, ...
Smart Meters (Consumer Choice) Bill
First Reading 5 May 2010
CLARE CURRAN ... companies came before the committee for their financial reviews: Meridian Energy, Genesis, Mighty River Power, Transpower, and the Electricity Commission. I asked every one of them the same question, and I got virtually the same answer ...
Electricity Industry Bill
Third Reading 23 Sep 2010
Hon JOHN CARTER ... the approval of grid upgrade proposals to the Commerce Commission, and the management of supply emergencies to Transpower. The new authority will be required to focus on getting the rules right, with the objective of improving competition, ...
In Committee 21 Sep 2010
Jacqui Dean Because they sell to Transpower. The member knows how the market works.
Hon DAVID PARKER That is not right. No, that is not how the market works, I say to Jacqui Dean. Transpower does not buy any power; not one kilowatt, except for the power in its head office, mainly. Maybe Transpower has a wee ...
CHRIS HIPKINS ... do not think the Electricity Authority will be able to do all of those things. This bill transfers the approval of Transpower’s grid upgrade plans away from the Electricity Commission, as it is now, to the Commerce Commission. I think that is ...
CHRIS HIPKINS ... Chamber and told us that the bill is all about increasing competition. One of the things this bill does is entrench Transpower’s role as the system operator. Currently, Transpower is the system operator on contract with the Electricity ...
CHRIS HIPKINS ... is a very, very good point made by my colleague David Parker. There will now be no oversight by a Government body of Transpower in its role as the system operator. There will not be the drive for efficiencies that there could have been. The ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... Genesis, or Meridian, or Mighty River Power, or all of them, exactly what the Labour Government had already said to Transpower, which was that it did not want as much dividend. The Labour Government did do that in respect of Transpower, and the ...
AARON GILMORE ... it found that there were problems with the electricity governance arrangements. We found that the dual regulation of Transpower was not working. We found that there was a lack of independence, that Ministers were meddling in governance ...
H V ROSS ROBERTSON ... done on the costs or benefits of the proposed relocation of roles amongst the authority, the Commerce Commission, Transpower, the Security and Reliability Council, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Minister. What analysis? I tell ...
CHRIS HIPKINS ... is a monopoly situation. The lines companies are monopolies, and the transmission grid will be a monopoly, run by Transpower in the case of the New Zealand transmission grid. If we are to say that we will have competition in the retail ...
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA ... of the debate that the Government has increased the effort in terms of investing in the upgrade of the grid through Transpower. I definitely applaud that investment; I think it is long overdue. I come back to Part 3. As I said, Part 3 cannot ...
CHRIS HIPKINS ... agencies—the Electricity Authority, the Commerce Commission, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, and Transpower—splitting up all its functions and scattering them to the four winds, is not going to work. I know that John Hayes is ...
Second Reading 20 Jul 2010
Hon NANAIA MAHUTA ... and that the cost-benefit case for asset transfer is unclear, which view in part was supported by submissions from Transpower and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, and by Treasury reports. There is a dogged ideological ...
CHARLES CHAUVEL ... properly on the market in the areas where they can offer real strength? Another real problem is establishing Transpower as the system operator by statute; actually enacting that it should have a monopoly role in this area, rather than ...
First Reading 15 Dec 2009
Hon DAVID PARKER ... had this fiction that we would somehow have competition in lines companies. As a consequence, there was a rule for Transpower—the organisation that runs the backbone of New Zealand’s wires. There is only one, it is an absolute monopoly, and ...
Hon PETE HODGSON ... suspect that my colleague the Hon Lianne Dalziel also finds it rather curious—is that we have new law that says that Transpower is the system operator. Heaven forbid! Who did that? Was it done by the Ministry of Economic Development, by the ...
Appointments - Judicial Conduct Commissioner
Judicial Conduct Commissioner 21 Jul 2009
Hon DAVID PARKER ... of the House. I was fortunate to have experience in dealing with Mr Gascoigne in his prior role as the chair of the Transpower board. I always found him to be a man of integrity and a man of his word. He never played any games. He was ...
Address in Reply 12 Feb 2009
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... a week off people’s holidays, they will need to get to and from their holidays faster! Of course, the doozy concerns Transpower and the network—the Government is going to paint the pylons. So it is not a case of Fawlty Towers; ...
Energy and Resources
Electricity—Progress on National Grid Upgrade 19 Aug 2010
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Today the Prime Minister opened a second substation at Ōtāhuhu. This marks the completion of Transpower’s Ōtāhuhu substation diversity project. A third of New Zealand’s power supply, and nearly all of Auckland and ...
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE ... such as the underground cable circuit between Pakuranga and Albany, and the new line into Pakuranga from the south. Transpower will spend around $1.7 billion in total on transmission projects to reinforce its network into and across Auckland. ...
Charles Chauvel Given that Transpower spent over $1 million last year on overseas travel for its staff and contractors, and given its decision to spend ...
Charles Chauvel Can taxpayers be satisfied that the decision to offer Transpower dividend relief has been accompanied by an appropriately strict oversight by him of Transpower’s planning and ...
Electricity, National Grid—Improvements 20 Apr 2010
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE I am pleased to advise the House that two important projects have recently been completed by Transpower to improve the security of electrical supply through the national grid. The first is the replacement transformer at ...
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Transpower has a multibillion-dollar programme of investment planned for the next few years. The biggest part of that programme ...
Charles Chauvel ... not put in place for a period of time the same dividend policy for the State-owned generators that it has for Transpower, which would allow the generators to remedy the dearth of new electricity generation that has occurred on his watch ...
Electricity—Investment in National Grid 13 May 2009
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE ... introduces a streamlined, simplified process for transmission investments under $20 million in value. This will save Transpower time and cost and will speed up important grid upgrades. Events in recent months—indeed, in recent weeks—demonstrate ...
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Yes; the Government believes that disentangling the regulatory overlap between the Electricity Commission, Transpower, and the Commerce Commission is important. I have launched a ministerial review into the electricity market, which ...
Electricity—Investment in National Grid 3 Mar 2009
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE ... party to look at disentangling the overlapping roles of the Electricity Commission, the Commerce Commission, and Transpower. There has been a great deal of criticism of the current regulatory and governance arrangements. The aim of the ...
Electricity—National Grid Investment 12 Feb 2009
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE I have today seen a report from Transpower stating that it will accelerate a $50 million upgrade programme to maintain and strengthen structures on the national ...
Charles Chauvel Has the Minister seen the description of the programme by the Transpower chief executive, Patrick Strange, as “essential maintenance work” brought forward—that is, neither major nor new? And ...
Chris Auchinvole Does Transpower have any other work planned for the electricity grid?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Yes, it does. I am advised that Transpower has over $3.8 billion worth of projects planned to reinforce the national grid. These projects either have commenced ...
Charles Chauvel I seek leave to table two statements. One is from the chief executive of Transpower describing the programme as “essential maintenance work”, and one is from the Minister describing it as “upgrading ...
Charles Chauvel Transpower.
Reinstatement of Business 9 Dec 2008
Transpower New Zealand Limited
Transpower New Zealand Limited
Electricity (Continuance of Supply) Amendment Bill
First Reading 24 Sep 2008
GERRY BROWNLEE ... about the end of spur lines, as they were known, and what was going to happen to them. Spur lines generally refer to Transpower but can be heavy distribution lines as well. There was a change of Government in 1999, and much trumpeting from the ...
Electricity Industry Reform Amendment Bill 2007
Second Reading 5 Sep 2008
LINDSAY TISCH ... in underpinning New Zealand’s economy. The Government has $6.3 billion worth of assets, and that compares with Transpower’s, which is separate at $2.4 billion. There are 1.9 million connected consumers. There are 149,000 kilometres of lines,...
Estimates Debate - In Committee
In Committee 5 Aug 2008
Hon DAVID PARKER ... in electricity, in order to achieve security of supply, are transmission, which is the big lines that are owned by Transpower, and sufficient generation build. In the 1990s, investment in transmission was running at about $50 million per ....
Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises - In Committee
In Committee 14 May 2008
Transpower New Zealand Ltd
Transpower New Zealand Ltd
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE ... working with you, and I expect to enjoy your sense of correctness, fairness, good order, and sense of humour. Transpower keeps New Zealand’s energy flowing. It takes bulk electricity from where it is generated, by companies such as ...
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE ... about these points. But he should wait, because there is more. Good examples are the farmers in the Waikato, where Transpower wants to put in new pylons to boost transmission to Auckland, and the farmers who are on the new Roxburgh to ...
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE Indeed! Then there was the land lease deal. In 2003 Transpower set up a complex tax deal where the Wachovia bank in the US transferred ownership of the South Island grid to a ...
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE ... Minister David Parker is here for this debate. It would have been really good if he had been here for the debate on Transpower, but he may wish to field some of the questions that were asked then. The current power crisis facing us this ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... these reviews have saved New Zealanders hundreds of millions of dollars. The Electricity Commission has oversight of Transpower’s grid investments. It did that in respect of the Waikato upgrade, and it actually knocked $150 million off the net ...
Commerce Amendment Bill 2008
In Committee 5 Sep 2008
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL ... section 54T as an example. The Commerce Committee recommended that the power to transfer jurisdiction be limited to Transpower only. Therefore, the Supplementary Order Paper makes a consequential change to section 54T, to limit the criteria and ...
First Reading 20 Mar 2008
Dr RICHARD WORTH ... industry. For example, in January 2006 the Commerce Commission announced that it intended to take control of Transpower’s prices. The State-owned enterprise needed to spend staggering sums—perhaps in the order of $4 billion. It had ...
Building Amendment Bill 2007
First Reading 7 Aug 2007
Hon JUDITH TIZARD ... include culverts, motorway signs, and certain pylons that are built by network utility operators, such as Transit and Transpower. It is not intended to change these policies from the 1991 Act and the bill will clarify this. For example, farmers ...
Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill
First Reading 26 Jul 2007
GERRY BROWNLEE ... costs is one that needs to be looked at here, as well. I do not see in this bill any particular reference to Transpower or to what its particular proposals are. The Minister, Mr Parker, is shaking his head, which leaves me wondering why ...
Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises - In Committee
In Committee 8 May 2007
GERRY BROWNLEE ... supply, because we do not have strong enough transmission going into that area. Although it might be easy to say that Transpower has mucked us up, the reality is that Transpower cannot do anything without the approval of the Electricity ....
Finance
Domestic Savings—Promotion 7 Aug 2008
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... float non-core. If the member thinks that Kiwibank is a non-core asset, that KiwiRail is a non-core asset, that Transpower is a non-core asset, that Genesis is a non-core asset, and so on, that is a very fascinating view and we have at last ...
Electricity Commissioner—Minister's Comments 15 Nov 2006
Hon Dr NICK SMITH Why did he call the electricity commissioner into his office on 23 May 2006, endorse Transpower’s new proposal to put power lines through the Waikato, and say that he would deny that the meeting ever took place if ...
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN The only correct part of that statement is that I called a meeting with the Electricity Commission and Transpower. Its purpose was to bang heads together, given the stand-off between, and the bad behaviour of, both players.
Hon Dr Nick Smith ...Committee—“You have to stretch things a bit.”, and make this statement: “We were definitely being pushed to accommodate Transpower rather than enforce the law.”; and why do Ministers in this Government, whether in relation to the pledge card, Mr ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... but five times, that at that meeting Dr Cullen made it absolutely explicit that they should get on and approve the Transpower proposal, against the law?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... meeting, asked the Government why it was relying upon the advice of the Electricity Commission rather than that of Transpower. [ Interruption]
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... the outcome at all.”; and why did he then meet with the electricity commissioner and make it plain that he wanted the Transpower proposal approved—how can that possibly be consistent?
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN It is not, because I did not. I have already told the member that. What we told Transpower and the Electricity Commission—I have publicly and privately many times referred to the male rutting that was going ...
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN Because in my view both the commission and Transpower at the time were not serving New Zealand well, and I do not apologise for trying to ensure that the commission and ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... the very explicit Morning Report transcript in which Mr Hemmingway said that he was told by Dr Cullen to approve the Transpower proposal, and that he would deny that that meeting ever took place.
Estimates Debate - In Committee
In Committee 25 Jul 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER ... are those caused by under-investment in the transmission part of the electricity sector, where for many, many years Transpower was stymied in its investment in new infrastructure by the rules imposed upon it by the previous National Government. ...
Estimates Debate - In Committee
In Committee 20 Jul 2006
Hon PAUL SWAIN ... relative to the private sector, even when we take out the fact that there are some monopolies within them, such as Transpower. When we look into the future, this Government has clearly said that it will not have asset sales. We are opposed to ...
State Owned Enterprises
Meridian Energy—Mill Creek Project 29 May 2008
Hon Dr Nick Smith Labour did that with Transpower.
State-owned Enterprises—Performance 16 Oct 2007
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... are. He has seen another report from Gerry Brownlee in the same publication, proposing to sell Landcorp but retain Transpower, but saying nothing about the other 15 State-owned enterprises. Clearly, the leader of the National Party does not ...
Electricity Supply—Capital Works 20 Jun 2006
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... year”, and does he agree with the statement of the Prime Minister in the House that “under the current Government, Transpower has been investing, on average, around $300 million per annum in its system.”?
Hon Dr Nick Smith ...rage”, “per annum”, and “every year” apply to a single year, and how can he say that this was the incorrect advice from Transpower when it is blatantly obvious from its annual reports that the Prime Minister’s figures were incorrect?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD Because it was not advice from Transpower.
Shane Jones How much has the average level of capital spending by Transpower increased under the current Government, and how much does the Minister expect it to increase in the near future?
Hon TREVOR MALLARD I am advised that the average capital spend by Transpower in the 6 years before Labour became the Government was an embarrassingly low $78 million per year. Based on current ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why, if the Government has been effectively investing so well in Transpower, do the annual reports show that in 6 of the last 7 years, depreciation has exceeded new investment so that the ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why should the public have confidence in Transpower when only a week after Auckland’s blackout, a Transpower failure yesterday at 12.50 p.m. caused a blackout in Rotorua’s...
Hon Dr Nick Smith I seek leave of the House to table from Transpower’s annual accounts its total infrastructure assets that show that since 1999 the asset base of Transpower has dropped ...
Supplementary Estimates - Imprest Supply Debate
Imprest Supply Debate 20 Jun 2006
Hon PAUL SWAIN ... to hear what Dr Brash said a few years ago, back in 2003. He said there were some things he would not sell, like Transpower for example, but he could not quite see the logic of the Government owning a business that was operating in a very ...
Auckland Issues
Electricity Supply—Auckland Issues, Minister 15 Jun 2006
Hon Trevor Mallard Can the Minister confirm that the 12 known risks for which Transpower sought approval and funding consent in Auckland last year have all been approved, and work is scheduled to fix all of ...
Resource Management (Security for Costs) Amendment Bill
First Reading 14 Jun 2006
KATE WILKINSON ... do we hear that the Resource Management Act needs reforming, and that it is the handbrake to progress? Only yesterday Transpower referred to Resource Management Act delays being the cause of transmission lines to Auckland not being upgraded. This ...
Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill
Third Reading 1 Aug 2006
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... that we must have sufficient security of generating supply and we must have a sufficient margin on transmission. Transpower and the commission must sort out their differences, including their personality differences; if not, the Government ...
Resource Management Act—Changes 14 Jun 2006
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE I have seen the most recent Transpower annual report for 2004-05. The only reference to the Resource Management Act in that document was a concern about how ...
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE ... Bill last year, it was voting against the very changes that industry, including infrastructure companies like Transpower, had requested to make consents even more efficient.
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... maintain that the Resource Management Act is not an impediment to improving security of supply of electricity, when Transpower applied for a resource consent with the Auckland City Council 2 years ago for an upgrade of the Ōtāhuhu-Penrose link—an...
Hon DAVID BENSON-POPE I note that Transpower on its own website makes the following statement: “Transpower recognises that the RMA provides a necessary framework ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... a point of order, Madam Speaker. Dr Keith Turner is the chief executive of Meridian Energy. I made no mention of Transpower in my question. My concerns are as much about the generation as the transmission of electricity. I think the Minister ...
Hon Trevor Mallard ... changes were intended to ensure that consequences of poor decisions in determining grid security standards rests with Transpower’s customers.
Prime Minister
Government Departments—Spending 28 May 2008
John Key Does the Prime Minister think that the recent $350,000 golden handshake for the chief executive of Transpower, Ralph Craven, is an example of thrift and moderation, when so many New Zealand taxpayers will be struggling to pay ...
Electricity—Transmission System Upgrade 28 Jun 2006
Dr Don Brash ... can New Zealanders have any confidence that the upgrades required in the transmission grid will actually happen, when Transpower is operating with one hand tied behind its back, thanks to the refusal of the Prime Minister’s Government to reform ...
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... Resource Management Act to include improvements requested by industries including infrastructure companies such as Transpower. That includes revised call-in provisions. The National Party voted against those specific provisions, which are able ...
Dr Don Brash Is the Prime Minister aware of criticisms by Transpower, and more recently by the Employers and Manufacturers Association, that the grid investment test introduced by her ...
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN ... emphasis upon increasing the margin for security. Of course, it is the previous Government that instructed Transpower to set up a committee whereby the consumers determined what upgrades should occur.
Dr Don Brash How can Transpower effectively manage the grid network, and conduct vitally necessary upgrades, when her Government has tied the company ...
Electricity Supply—Cabinet Policy Committee 14 Jun 2006
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK I can advise that the advice I have received today is that under the current Government, Transpower has been investing, on average, around $300 million per annum in its system. That is six times the $50 million per ...
Dr Don Brash ... Minister and her Ministers continue to deny that the Resource Management Act has caused considerable problems to Transpower in its endeavours to upgrade the national grid, when Transpower told the then incoming Minister of Energy, Trevor ...
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Transpower has been in touch with the Government today to say that it has not said anywhere that it blames the Resource ...
Energy, Minister—Confidence 13 Jun 2006
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK ... morning. The Minister of Energy is asking Ministry of Economic Development officials, the Electricity Commission, and Transpower to supply reports as quickly as possible. If there is a need to change policy, that can be done, but it may be that ...
Urgent Debates - Power Outage—Upper North Island
Power Outage—Upper North Island 13 Jun 2006
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... acceptable. The technical explanation for the blackout is that a single overhead earth wire broke. It fell on to Transpower’s 110-kilovolt switching equipment, bringing the whole system down. No doubt there will be technical questions to ...
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... for it. The Minister went on to say—as reported in the New Zealand Herald this morning—that he had asked Transpower to investigate separating out parts of the Ōtāhuhu station under its plan to upgrade transmission into Auckland after ...
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... and pretends that the Act will enable us to build the infrastructure our country so desperately needs. It will not. Transpower has said—in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005—that it cannot maintain and upgrade the grid without reform of the Resource ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD I am quite happy to have their interjections. We do not need the level of protection that you are attempting here. Transpower is now investigating why that cable broke. We will have an answer to that—a report on the Minister’s desk—within 2 ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... to be very careful saying this about a State-owned enterprise for which I am responsible, but I would prefer to have Transpower’s report reviewed independently than to rely totally on Transpower’s views about what happened. I think it is ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD I just happen to be the ownership Minister for Transpower. It is something that is vaguely important.
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... on its size, as soon as possible and with the investment that is necessary. This Government has made it clear to Transpower that the Government’s dividend requirements do not override the important capital expenditure that it is doing. ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... period of time as is occurring right now. If one looks at the wind farms being put in and at the preparations for the Transpower cables through the Waikato, one can see that major investment is occurring. It is clear to every member in this ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... the case of infrastructure being either not strong enough or not properly maintained. We will have a report from Transpower within 2 weeks, which will be independently reviewed and acted upon.
Gerry Brownlee ... debate so that Parliament might express its views on the crisis that occurred in Auckland yesterday as a result of a Transpower failure at one of its plants. For Mr Brown to get up and start reading a 1998 speech from Winston Peters, I think, ...
PETER BROWN ... with interest, and it saddened me that he got on to so many sidetracks that I thought he did himself a disservice. Transpower pays the Government a dividend, which was $10 million last year, and $40 million the year before. New Zealand First ...
Hon Maurice Williamson Winston never mentioned Transpower in ’98.
SUE BRADFORD ... can be improved. From what the Minister has said just now, I understand that a report is expected very urgently from Transpower—within 2 weeks—and that there will be a review by an independent expert. I also understand from the Government that, ...
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON ...yesterday—the pathetic little strand that members can see in this picture—is part of the Government’s operation called Transpower. That is the difference. That is the way the responsibilities lie. I will never hold a Minister in this House ...
TARIANA TURIA ... Tainui region who were plunged into chaos yesterday through a major power blackout. A blackout caused by a failure at Transpower’s Ōtāhuhu substation caused chaos in the central business district, which affected an estimated 700,000 people. We ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... what has happened. What have we done? First of all, I have required a report to be with me within 2 weeks from Transpower as to its analysis of what went wrong, and particularly as to why the wider system did not cope with the consequences ...
GORDON COPELAND Transpower has a number of questions to answer in respect of the blackout that occurred in Auckland yesterday. It is, in truth, ...
Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises - In Committee
In Committee 16 May 2006
DARREN HUGHES
... what you have just proposed. When you say State enterprises, are you talking about AgriQuality New Zealand through to Transpower New Zealand?
... what you have just proposed. When you say State enterprises, are you talking about AgriQuality New Zealand through to Transpower New Zealand?
Transpower New Zealand
Transpower New Zealand
Hon Dr NICK SMITH
... of transmission, there is huge confusion within the sector as to who is calling the shots: the Commerce Commission, Transpower New Zealand, or the Electricity Commission. There is huge uncertainty in the sector about the Government’s Kyoto policies. Every ...
... of transmission, there is huge confusion within the sector as to who is calling the shots: the Commerce Commission, Transpower New Zealand, or the Electricity Commission. There is huge uncertainty in the sector about the Government’s Kyoto ...
Financial Review Debate - In Committee
In Committee 4 Apr 2006
GORDON COPELAND ... the transmission grid in this country. I refer particularly to the 400-kilovolt line that was planned originally by Transpower between Whakamara and Ōtāhuhu. As members will be aware, that line was announced by Transpower last year. Subsequently,...
Urgent Debates - David Parker—Resignation from Executive
David Parker—Resignation from Executive 21 Mar 2006
GERRY BROWNLEE ... to tell us that because there is conflict in the electricity industry—the generators, the Electricity Commission, and Transpower have all got big issues going on with one another—we are better off than we have ever been before. Well, when the ...
Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 21 Feb 2006
GORDON COPELAND ... down. We in United Future have some worthwhile suggestions to make in that regard. For example, we believe that Transpower should fund the upgrade of the national grid solely from debt financing—debt financing borrowed by the Government ...
Prime Minister’s Statement 14 Feb 2006
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK ... to Auckland for the longer term. Once the Electricity Commission has reported, firm decisions can and must be taken. Transpower has put its option on the table. The job of the Electricity Commission is to test whether Transpower’s option, or ...
Energy
Electricity Transmission—Investment 30 Jul 2008
Hon DAVID PARKER Transpower reports that it will spend $450 million this year on grid improvements. That is part of the $3.5 billion of ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... end of this question, reporting on a meeting between a member of this House and the Waikato lobby group opposed to Transpower’s new pylons through to Auckland. This member has been telling the lobby group—and this is a quote from the email ...
Electricity—Supply 15 Apr 2008
Gerry Brownlee Has the Minister seen the Transpower statement yesterday that stated that the hydro lake levels are down to just 65 percent of average, thus putting them ...
Hon DAVID PARKER I am aware of the steps that the Electricity Commission and Transpower have taken—in fact, I go over those issues daily. But it is not correct to say that as a consequence of the minzone ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... information about lake levels, security margins, and trigger points for more action. As a consequence of this system, Transpower and the industry are already better managing the situation, as evidenced today by comments made by the Major ...
Energy—Supply 12 Mar 2008
Hon DAVID PARKER Transpower has today announced that Pole 1 of the high voltage direct current interisland electricity grid link will be ...
Gerry Brownlee Has the Minister seen the Marsh report of last September, commissioned by Transpower, which led to Transpower shutting down the Pole 1 link, and in that report has he seen the risks that were outlined ...
Gerry Brownlee ... track so I will help him. I have in my possession here a document: Risk Analysis Pole 1 HVDC Line, with the words “Transpower Limited”, “Marsh”, “Final Report”, dated September, which does outline the risks I have suggested. It does talk, for ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... of the high-voltage direct current link are well addressed by the detail of the material that has been released by Transpower. If the situation was as dire as Mr Brownlee says it is, of course Transpower would not be able to insure against the ...
Electricity Supply—Cook Strait Cable 19 Feb 2008
Gerry Brownlee ... Minister stand by his statement when he and his colleagues have received regular briefings, reports, and memos from Transpower and the Electricity Commission over the last few years stating that the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link was ...
Hon PETE HODGSON ... that this pole is now 30 years old and it will need to be decommissioned at some time. The Electricity Commission and Transpower are trying to work out when that will be, and in the meantime they are looking to see whether they can get the pole ...
Hon PETE HODGSON The Minister was first questioned by the National Party on this matter last week—more than 4 months after Transpower publicly advised its intention. The House has had dozens and dozens of question times since that announcement, but ...
Gerry Brownlee What barriers to complete replacement of the HVDC Pole 1 of the Cook Strait cable stand in the way of Transpower getting on to the project with some urgency?
Gerry Brownlee Could the Minister confirm that the reason Transpower has not gone ahead with the project is that it does not have sign-off from the Electricity Commission under the ...
Gerry Brownlee Can the Minister confirm that Transpower made its application to the Electricity Commission in September of 2005 and is still waiting to hear back?
Hon PETE HODGSON
No, I cannot confirm that. I can confirm the opposite, which is that the Electricity Commission and Transpower New Zealand continue to remain in discussions on this, that, and the other bit of the transmission capital investment programme of ...
No, I cannot confirm that. I can confirm the opposite, which is that the Electricity Commission and Transpower New Zealand continue to remain in discussions on this, that, and the other bit of the transmission capital investment ...
Electricity—Supply 14 Feb 2008
GERRY BROWNLEE Has he received a report on yesterday’s National Winter Group meeting led by Transpower; if so, what did the report conclude on electricity supply security in New Zealand for this coming winter?
Dave Hereora When does Transpower expect to make a decision on the partial restoration of Pole 1?
Hon DAVID PARKER Transpower’s chief executive officer, Patrick Strange, said this morning that he expects a decision on that will be taken in the ...
Gordon Copeland ... point where one pole of the cable is apparently uninsurable, and will he hold the entity responsible for that—be it Transpower or the Electricity Commission—accountable for placing our electricity supply system at unnecessary risk?
Hon DAVID PARKER ... The Electricity Commission can only consider an application that is made to it. It is awaiting the application from Transpower. The technical specifications are also being prepared by Transpower separate from that process to put out to tender, ...
Electricity—Supply 13 Feb 2008
Hon DAVID PARKER ... can give an absolute guarantee, but I can assure the member that even at this stage the Electricity Commission, Transpower, and other industry participants are working together to ensure a secure supply of electricity is maintained.
Gerry Brownlee ... Contact Energy’s New Plymouth plant is shut and is not likely to open again this winter; are these the reasons why Transpower has called the crisis meeting today; and when will he tell the public of New Zealand that we are now gripped by an ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... idea of mobile generators as a contingency is not one of mine. It has come from either the Electricity Commission or Transpower; I cannot recall which. As I have said before, it is unlikely to be necessary, but if it were necessary we would do ....
Electricity—Supply 10 May 2007
Gerry Brownlee Has the Minister seen the Transpower website entitled Grid New Zealand, which is an easily accessible information tool telling us about Transpower’s ...
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN The member seems to have shifted from the Electricity Commission to Transpower in that question, and they are two completely different bodies. If the member is referring to—
Gerry Brownlee Has he noted that anyone can go to the Transpower website called Grid New Zealand and see a list of projects held up by the Electricity Commission; if so, will he ...
Electricity Commission—Confidence 2 May 2007
Gerry Brownlee How can the Minister have confidence in the Electricity Commission, when the Transpower proposal to rectify the security risk at the Ōtāhuhu substation, which blew out last year and cost the New Zealand ...
Electricity Commission—Independence 14 Sep 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER ... We already know from the draft Electricity Commission decision that it will carve substantial costs from the Transpower proposal, however it proceeds.
Hon DAVID PARKER ... clear that more regulatory oversight is required for lines companies that are absolute monopolies—including Transpower—than was the case back in 1998, when they were left unregulated to plunder the country.
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... yesterday to justify sacking Mr Hemmingway on the basis of the tensions between the Electricity Commission and Transpower, when the Government itself has been the cause of those tensions by pressuring the commission last year to kick the ...
Hon DAVID PARKER Not at all. The breakdown in the relationship between Transpower and the Electricity Commission at the most senior levels is something that neither organisation should be proud of. ...
Electricity Commissioner—Term of Appointment 13 Sep 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER ... I thank him. Nevertheless it is also true that a dysfunctional relationship between the Electricity Commission and Transpower has developed, which the Government has moved to resolve through changes on both sides of the divide. We have chosen ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... has served his 3-year term. I repeat that given the dysfunctional relationship between the Electricity Commission and Transpower, the Government has moved to advance that issue through changes on both sides of the divide.
Electricity Outage, Auckland—Report 18 Jul 2006
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... practice, especially at such an important node”, that the failed earth wires were not bonded in accordance with Transpower’s own “current standard practice”, and that “Transpower’s routine inspection and maintenance regime failed to detect ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... increase in power usage;”, in the very same month that he was proudly standing next to a transmission tower in the Transpower monthly magazine, where an extra wire was being strung.
Hon DAVID PARKER ... House already knows, the report was commissioned by me and immediately upon its receipt I supplied a copy of it to Transpower, together with a letter from me that I have also released, which highlights the four short-term remedial steps I ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Does the Minister agree that Transpower erred in putting so much management time into complex lease-back tax deals with the grid, rather than focusing on its ...
Hon DAVID PARKER No, I do not agree with that. I actually think Transpower did the country a favour, and has saved New Zealand power consumers and taxpayers many millions of dollars as a ...
Hon DAVID PARKER I seek leave to table Transpower’s June newsletter, which has a very nice photo of Dr Smith inspecting progress on the new line between Blenheim and ...
Electricity Outage, Auckland—Report 27 Jun 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER It is already apparent that most of the problems we have had in the Canterbury region actually are not with Transpower facilities but with the time taken to rebuild some of the breakages to local networks.
Peter Brown ... fails, the whole rig does not collapse; and, now that he is aware of that, does he think there is any merit in Transpower having some serious discussions with the maritime industry?
Hon DAVID PARKER I was not aware of that, but I am sure Transpower will be looking again at its maintenance regimes and reliance on D-shackles in situations such as this.
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... bodies with electricity responsibilities, which includes the Electricity Commission, the Commerce Commission, Transpower, and the Ministry of Economic Development, when there is a chorus of commentary from Treasury, the International ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... Government, when decisions as to investment in the grid were left to a committee of consumers rather than planned by Transpower or any other Government agency.
Electricity—Transmission Grid 21 Jun 2006
Hon Dr NICK SMITH ... the electricity governance changes in 2003 and 2004 involving the Commerce Commission, Electricity Commission, and Transpower is the right structure to ensure the transmission grid is maintained and upgraded?
Hon DAVID PARKER ... specialist and the chief executive officer of Mighty River Power, who on Monday in the Waikato Times said of Transpower: “So the issues you see now really come from decisions that were or were not taken five or 10 years ago.” The reason ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... am sure a repetition of that event would be very unlikely, I cannot give that assurance. I am awaiting a report from Transpower as to what transpired.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Does the Minister agree with the statement yesterday by Trevor Mallard that Transpower investments of $78 million per year were “embarrassingly low”; if so, whom in Labour does he hold responsible for the ...
Hon DAVID PARKER I am happy to develop on that answer. In the 1999-2000 year, $63 million of capital was spent by Transpower. This year the amount of capital being spent is $295 million. Next year it will be $360 million. The following year ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... the incorrect advice that led the Prime Minister to say in Parliament last week: “under the current Government, Transpower has been investing, on average, around $300 million per annum in its system.”, and that led to the Minister’s own ...
Hon David Parker I seek the leave of the House to table the 1999 Government policy statement, when Transpower was directed to provide services as requested by its customers, rather than to plan them.
Electricity Supply—Cabinet Policy Committee 15 Jun 2006
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why did Helen Clark tell Parliament yesterday that “Transpower has been investing, on average, around $300 million per annum in its system.”, when the annual report for Transpower ...
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... to the national grid. This year it is spending about $300 million a year on capital expenditure, and I expect Transpower to spend substantially more in the future because of the need to do more catch-up work as a result of gross ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why has the Government stated that Transpower has no issues with the Resource Management Act because the Government addressed all of its issues in the amendment ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why did the Government today issue a press statement saying that Transpower had no issue with the Resource Management Act now, when it was specifically mentioned by its chief executive officer, ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why, in response to parliamentary written questions about a Transpower failure affecting 30,000 Nelson households on 25 March, in which I asked what caused the failure, what investigation ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... seek the leave of the House to table the annual reports from 1995 to 2005 showing the capital investment programme of Transpower, making a lie of both the Prime Minister’s claims and those of the Minister with regard to the changes in investment.
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... made by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy were incorrect with regard to the capital expenditure of Transpower.
Hon Dr Nick Smith I seek the leave of the House to table the news release today from the Government that states that Transpower had no difficulties with the Resource Management Act after it had been amended, and Transpower’s own submission to ...
Electricity Supply—Government Policies 14 Jun 2006
Hon TREVOR MALLARD ... year of an additional $83 million for investment in transmission in Auckland. Twelve separate projects were put up by Transpower, and 12 projects were approved.
Electricity Supply—Energy, Minister’s Statement 13 Jun 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER I did not. I was referring to the fact that it is approved by Transpower, and is part of a request for information that it presently has out and is consulting upon.
Hon DAVID PARKER It is approved by Transpower.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Does the Minister stand by his statement in the New Zealand Herald this morning that he had requested Transpower “to investigate separating out parts of the Otahuhu substation under its plan to upgrade transmission into Auckland ...
Hon DAVID PARKER No, I do not accept that characterisation of it. What I did was refer to the current proposals that Transpower had already planned for the separation of some of the lines at Ōtāhuhu to another part of the site, so as to achieve ...
Peter Brown Is the Minister aware that Transpower pays the Government dividends—albeit a modest $10 million last year—and, in the light of the Auckland problems, will ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... to that is evident in the question. A dividend of a mere $10 million is not a capital constraint that is holding back Transpower’s investment in the grid.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Why has the Government ignored the calls from Transpower in the 2002 annual report, the 2003 annual report, the 2004 annual report, and the 2005 annual report that the ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... practical progress is being made by the acquisition of land, on a voluntary basis, through the Waikato. If and when Transpower believes that it actually needs assistance to compulsorily acquire land from those who are holding out, I have no ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith I seek the leave of the House to table Transpower’s annual reports for the years 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05, and its 6-monthly report, all stating that the Resource ...
Electricity Commission—Investment Process 3 May 2006
Hon DAVID PARKER ... test was approved after wide consultation with the industry. Nevertheless, it is true that the draft decision of Transpower on the proposed 400 kilovolts upgrade into Auckland is the first time that that grid investment test has been applied ...
Hon DAVID PARKER ... over recent years is that there was an assumption under the Bradford reforms that pricing signals would be given to Transpower in a way that would cause it to make an economically based decision, based on those pricing signals, as to when it ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... Government back the judgment of the Electricity Commission, a board with little engineering experience, over that of Transpower and Meridian Energy, which have a huge depth of engineering experience on security of transmission systems, when ...
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... Minister have confidence in the confusing structure his Government has created between the Electricity Commission, Transpower, and the Commerce Commission in respect of decisions about the management of the national grid; if so, why do the ...
Electricity—Supply 6 Apr 2006
Hon Dr Nick Smith ...wke’s Bay that, only 2 years after $150 million was spent on its construction, major players in the industry, including Transpower and Meridian Energy, say it was built in the wrong place?
Electricity Market—Information Accuracy 21 Mar 2006
Hon Dr Nick Smith ... by the structure it has created in respect of transmission policy and investment with the confusing roles between Transpower, the Commerce Commission, and the Electricity Commission; if so, which should Parliament hold responsible if the ...
Electricity Transmission—Capacity 17 Nov 2005
Hon DAVID PARKER This Government believes that New Zealand needs significant investment in transmission capacity. In conjunction with Transpower and the Electricity Commission, we are addressing the issue. Transpower is currently spending over $100 million to ...
Address in Reply 15 Nov 2005
Dr DON BRASH ... prospect of “brownouts” and blackouts, despite the fact that the great bulk of the electricity generation sector and Transpower are owned by the Government itself. It has failed to take significant steps to ease the critical shortage of skilled ...
PETER BROWN ... no further strategic asset sales. That means we will be keeping Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Genesis Power, Transpower, TVNZ, New Zealand Post, and Kiwibank. There will be no “for sale” notice on them. We will ensure that the carbon tax ...