11. JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) Link to this
to the Minister of Energy and Resources
What steps has he taken recently to accelerate investment in the national electricity grid?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister of Energy and Resources) Link to this
Yesterday I released a new Draft Government Policy Statement on Electricity Governance for consultation. The new policy proposes streamlined and simplified processes for transmission investments that are under $20 million in value. The current processes can involve lengthy duplication of engineering and systems planning. Although the work was already in progress, I was interested to see that this proposal was a recommendation made at last Friday’s Job Summit.
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
I am currently working on terms of reference for a ministerial working 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 working party will be to improve those arrangements.