Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698943897033.pdf (New Zealand)
Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Public Act Date of assent 2001 No 40 7 August 2001 Contents Title Commencement Commencement of Electricity Governance Board provisions [Repealed] Process to apply before Electricity Governance Board provisions may be commenced [Repealed] Automatic trigger of process for commencing Electricity Governance Board provisions [Repealed] Title amended Interpretation New sections 4 and 4A substituted 4 Declaration of electricity distributors as electricity operators Declaration of electricity supply businesses as electricity operators 4A Owners of land not responsible for maintenance New section 22A inserted 22A Rights of entry in respect of existing works New sections 23A to 23E inserted 23A Line owner must give written notice of intention to maintain or complete existing works Line owner must give notice of intention to inspect or operate existing works Notice in emergencies 23B 23C Page 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 9 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 23D Land owner may set reasonable conditions on line owner’s entry Agreements preserved 23E New section 23F inserted 23F New headings and sections 158A to 158F inserted Disputes about land access 12 13 Subpart 1—General electricity matters Financial statements of customer and community trusts 158A Community and customer trusts to prepare audited ﬁnancial statements 158B Publication of audited ﬁnancial statements 158C Auditor of trusts 158D Procedures for annual meeting to appoint auditor 158E Auditor­General to be auditor if no other auditor appointed 158F Application of sections 158A to 158E Repeal and saving of information disclosure provisions Repeal of section 170A New subpart 2 and Part 15 inserted 14 15 16 Subpart 2—Electricity industry regulation­making powers 172A Outline of subpart Regulations—Low ﬁxed charge tariff option for domestic consumers 172B Low ﬁxed charge tariff option for domestic consumers Regulations—Code on access for beneﬁciaries of community and customer trusts 12 12 12 12
 13 14 14 14 15 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 172C Regulations for code on access for beneﬁciaries 20 of customer and community trusts Electricity governance regulations 172D Electricity governance regulations for wholesale market and transmission of electricity 172E Conditions and process for recommendations on electricity governance regulations for wholesale market and transmission of electricity 172F Other electricity governance regulations 21 23 24 2 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 172G Process for recommendations on other electricity governance regulations 172H Electricity governance rules 172I Method of making electricity governance rules Supplementary provisions 172J Supplementary empowering provision for regulations and rules 172K Supplementary empowering provision for regulations Part15 Governance of electricity industry Preliminary provisions 172L Purpose Subpart 1—Electricity Governance Board 172M Establishment of Electricity Governance Board 172N Principal objective of EGB 172O Functions of EGB 172P Body corporate status and powers 172Q Role of board of EGB 172R Membership of EGB’s board Duties of members 172S Duties of members 172T Collective duties of EGB’s board 172U Members accountable to Minister 172V Further provisions as to EGB and EGB’s board in Schedule 2A Role of EGB in relation to electricity governance regulations and rules 172W EGB to make recommendations concerning electricity governance regulations and rules 172X Objectives of recommendations 172Y Obligation to consult 172Z Minister must have regard to recommendations Power to direct EGB 172ZA Power to direct EGB 172ZB Procedure for giving direction Levy of industry participants 27 29 30 30 31 32 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 35 36 36 36 36 37 38 3 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 172ZC Levy of industry participants Miscellaneous 172ZD Accountability of EGB 172ZE Regulations 172ZF EGB is public authority 172ZG Amendment to Ombudsmen Act 1975 172ZH Amendment to Public Finance Act 1989
 Subpart 2—Accountability of electricity governance organisations 172ZI Application of subpart 172ZJ Interpretation 172ZK Setting of GPS objectives and outcomes 172ZL Agreement of annual performance standards 172ZM Annual performance report to Minister 172ZN Minister must present annual performance report to House of Representatives 172ZO Assurance audit by Auditor­General 172ZP Report by Parliamentary Commissioner for Environment 172ZQ Functions under this subpart 172ZR Offences New Part 16 heading inserted Part16 Repeals, etc, and transitional provisions New Schedule 2A inserted Transitional provision for Transpower’s pricing methodology on and after 26 July 2001 Savings provision for Transpower’s pricing methodology before 26 July 2001 Validations of actions by persons without electricity operator status Amendment to Public Audit Act 2001 Schedule 1 New Schedule 2A inserted No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 7 The Parliament of New Zealand enacts as follows: 1 (1) (2) Title This Act is the Electricity Amendment Act 2001.
In this Act, the Electricity Act 1992 is called “the principal Act”.

2 3 4 5 6 Commencement Except as provided in section 3, this Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.

Commencement of Electricity Governance Board provisions [Repealed] Section 3 was repealed, as from 18 October 2004, by section 14(4) Electricity Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 80).
Process to apply before Electricity Governance Board provisions may be commenced [Repealed] Section 4 was repealed, as from 18 October 2004, by section 14(4) Electricity Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 80).

Automatic trigger of process for commencing Electricity Governance Board provisions [Repealed] Section 5 was repealed, as from 18 October 2004, by section 14(4) Electricity Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 80).
Title amended The Title of the principal Act is amended by inserting, after the words “the regulation of the supply of electricity”, the words “and the electricity industry”.

7 (1) Interpretation Section 2(1) of the principal Act is amended by repealing the deﬁnition of the term point of supply, and substituting the following deﬁnition: 5 s 7 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “point of supply has the meaning set out in subsection (3)”.
(2) Section 2(1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting, in their appropriate alphabetical order, the following deﬁnitions: “community trust means an electricity trust (within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998) that is a community trust under section 38 of that Act “customer trust means an electricity trust (within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998) that is a customer trust under section 38 of that Act “domestic consumer means any person who purchases or uses elec­ tricity in respect of any domestic premises “domestic premises means any premises that are used or intended for occupation by any person principally as a place of residence; but does not include any premises referred to in paragraphs (a) to (i) of section 90 of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998 “EGB means the Electricity Governance Board which may be estab­ lished under subpart 1 of Part 15 “EGB’s board or board, for the purposes of Part 15 and Schedule 2A, has the meaning set out in section 172Q “electricity generator means any person who owns or operates a generator connected to distribution or transmission lines “electricity governance organisation has, for the purposes of sub­ part 2 of Part 15, the meaning set out in section 172ZI “electricity governance regulations means regulations made under sections 172D and 172E “GPS objectives and outcomes has the meaning set out in section 172ZJ “industry participant means— an electricity retailer: “(a) an electricity distributor: “(b) an electricity generator: “(c) a line owner: “(d) a person who uses electricity that is conveyed to the person “(e) directly by the national grid: a person or group of persons involved in the governance or administration of the electricity industry “(f) 6 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 7 “national grid means the assets used or owned by Transpower for the purpose of conveying electricity “performance standards has the meaning set out in section 172ZJ “report date has, for the purposes of subpart 2 of Part 15, the mean­ ing set out in section 172ZJ “reporting period has the meaning set out in section 172ZJ “rules and electricity governance rules mean, for the purposes of subpart 2 of Part XIV and subpart 1 of Part 15, rules made under section 172H “Transpower means Transpower New Zealand Limited or any sub­ sidiary of, or successor to, that company”.
(3) Section 2 of the principal Act is amended by adding the fol­ lowing subsections: In this Act, point of supply, in relation to a property, means the point or points on the boundary of the property at which exclusive ﬁttings enter that property, except that,— “(a) “(3) if there are both high voltage lines and a transformer owned by the electricity distributor on the property, the point of supply is the point at which electricity from the transformer enters exclusive ﬁttings; or if there are non­exclusive ﬁttings on the property, the point of supply is the point at which those ﬁttings be­ come exclusive ﬁttings; or if the exclusive ﬁttings on the property are owned by a consumer that is a tenant or licensee of the owner or occupier of the property, the point of supply is the point at which those exclusive ﬁttings enter the area leased or licensed by the consumer; or if there is speciﬁc agreement that any other point on the property is the point of supply, the point of supply is the agreed point;— and, in this deﬁnition,— “(b) “(c) “(d) “exclusive ﬁttings means ﬁttings used or intended to be used for the purpose of supplying electricity exclusively to that property “high voltage lines means lines conveying electricity at a volt­ age of 1000 volts or more 7 s 7 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “property— “(a) means the land within the boundary where the electri­ “(b) “(c) city is consumed: includes the whole of the property, if the property is occupied wholly or partially by tenants or licensees of the owner or occupier: includes the whole of any property that has been subdi­ vided under the Unit Titles Act 1972 “speciﬁc agreement may be an agreement— “(a) entered into by— “(i) “(ii) the existing consumer; or any person with a greater interest in the property than the consumer (such as the consumer’s land­ lord); or “(iii) any body corporate under the Unit Titles Act 1972 or the registered proprietor of the land to which the unit plan relates; and entered into by the electricity distributor or the electri­ city retailer; and entered into before or after the date on which this pro­ vision comes into force.
“(b) “(c) “(4) The new deﬁnition of point of supply in subsection (3)— “(a) applies on and after the date on which the Electricity Amendment Act 2001 receives the Royal assent if— “(i) an agreement exists between the electricity dis­ tributor and the consumer that the point of supply is already located at the point provided for in the new deﬁnition; and the consumer has not challenged the existence of that agreement before that date; and “(ii) “(b) is, in other cases, subject to the transitional provision in subsection (5).
“(5) The new deﬁnition of point of supply in subsection (3) does not apply in any other particular case until the electricity dis­ tributor has— “(a) brought the ﬁttings for which the consumer will become responsible as a result of the new deﬁnition to a reason­ able standard of maintenance or repair, if those ﬁttings 8 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 8 are not at a reasonable standard at the time when this provision comes into force; and “(b) notiﬁed the consumer in writing— “(i) that the point of supply is as deﬁned in accord­ ance with the new deﬁnition; and “(ii) the location of that point of supply; and “(iii) the effect of the change to the point of supply; “(iv) “(v) and that the point of supply may not take effect under this Act unless any ﬁttings for which the consumer will become responsible have been brought to a reasonable standard of maintenance and repair; and the date on which the point of supply will change (which must be no less than 20 working days after the date of the notiﬁcation).” 8 “4 New sections 4 and 4A substituted The principal Act is amended by repealing sections 4 and 4A, and substituting the following sections: Declaration of electricity distributors as electricity operators “(1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare a person to be an electricity operator for the purposes of this Act or any provision or provisions of this Act if the Minister is satisﬁed that a declaration is necessary to enable the person to com­ mence or carry on a business as an electricity distributor.
“(2) The Minister must, as soon as reasonably practicable, by no­ tice in the Gazette, declare that a person ceases to be an elec­ tricity operator on a date stated in the notice if the Minister is satisﬁed that the person has ceased to carry on a business as an electricity distributor.
“4A Declaration of electricity supply businesses as electricity operators “(1) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare an electri­ city supply business to be an electricity operator for the pur­ poses of this Act or any provision or provisions of this Act if the Minister is satisﬁed— 9 s 9 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(a) “(b) that a declaration is necessary to enable the person to carry on all or any of the activities referred to in section 4(2) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998; and that the electricity distribution business interests of the electricity supply business in respect of which the dec­ laration is made are conﬁned to any or all of the activ­ ities set out in that subsection.
“(2) The Minister must, as soon as reasonably practicable, by no­ tice in the Gazette, declare that a person ceases to be an elec­ tricity operator on a date stated in the notice if the Minister is satisﬁed that the person is no longer carrying out any of the activities referred to in section 4(2) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998.
“(3) For the purposes of this section, electricity supply business has the meaning set out in section 5(1)(a)(iii) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998.” 9 New section 22A inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, after section 22, the following section: “22A Owners of land not responsible for maintenance “(1) An owner or occupier of land on which any existing works are situated is not required by this Act to maintain existing works, or to maintain tracks for the purpose of providing the owner of the works with access to the existing works.
“(2) This section does not limit or override any new or existing legally binding agreement that provides for an owner or occu­ pier of the land to be responsible for any maintenance.” Rights of entry in respect of existing works Section 23 of the principal Act is amended by adding the fol­ lowing subsection: In this section, maintenance includes— “(a) any repairs and any other activities for the purpose of maintaining, or that have the effect of maintaining, existing works; and 10 (1) “(3) 10 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 11 (2) “(b) the carrying out of any replacement or upgrade of exist­ ing works as long as the land will not be injuriously af­ fected as a result of the replacement or upgrade.” The amendment made by subsection (1) does not have the ef­ fect of making an activity a permitted use under a district plan or regional plan under the Resource Management Act 1991 if it would not have been a permitted use if subsection (1) had not been enacted.
11 (1) New sections 23A to 23E inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, after section 23, the following sections: “23A Line owner must give written notice of intention to maintain or complete existing works “(1) An owner of existing works that intends to enter upon land for the purpose of maintaining or completing the works under section 23 must give reasonable notice (at least 10 working days before entry) of its intention to do so to the owner or occupier of the land.
“(2) The notice must be in writing, and must specify— “(a) “(b) “(c) “(d) the location of the proposed entry and work; and the reasons for the entry and work and the nature of the work to be undertaken; and the date and time of entry; and the length of time that the owner of the works expects to be on the land.
“23B Line owner must give notice of intention to inspect or operate existing works “(1) An owner of existing works that intends to enter upon land for the purpose of inspecting or operating the works under section 23 must give reasonable notice of its intention to do so to the owner or occupier of the land.

“(2) The notice may be given by telephone or in any other manner that the owner of the works thinks appropriate.
11 s 12 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “23C Notice in emergencies “(1) An owner of existing works is excused from giving notice as required by section 23A or section 23B if— “(a) entry upon the land is necessary in circumstances of probable danger to life or property; or entry upon the land is immediately necessary to main­ tain the continuity or safety of the supply and distribu­ tion of electricity.
“(b) “(2) However, in either case, the owner of the existing works must give notice to the owner or occupier of the land as soon as practicable and to the extent that the circumstances permit (and no later than 5 working days after entry).
“23D Land owner may set reasonable conditions on line owner’s entry The owner or occupier of the land may set reasonable condi­ tions relating to the timing of entry under section 23 and the access route, but those conditions may not— “(a) “(b) “(c) delay the entry by more than 15 working days; or require monetary or other consideration; or otherwise defeat the ability of the owner of the works to exercise effectively the powers in section 23.
“23E Agreements preserved Sections 23A to 23D do not limit or override any new or exist­ ing agreement that is legally binding on the owner or occupier of the land and the owner of the works.” Section 159(1) of is consequentially the principal Act amended by inserting, before the expression “31”, the words “23A to 23E,”.
(2) 12 New section 23F inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, before section 24, the following section: “23F Disputes about land access “(1) The owner or occupier of land, or the owner of the works, may refer any dispute under sections 23 to 23E to the Environment Court.

12 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 13 “(2) The objector must, as soon as practicable after making a writ­ ten objection, serve a copy of the objection on the other party to the dispute.
“(3) Within 1 month after receiving a copy of the objection or within any further period that the Environment Court allows, the other party to the dispute must send to the Environment Court and serve on the objector a reply to the objection con­ taining matters that are appropriate having regard to the objec­ tion made and to any practice directions issued by the Envir­ onment Court.
“(4) The Environment Court must inquire into the objection and, for that purpose, may conduct a hearing at any time and place it appoints.

“(5) The Environment Court must give not less than 15 working days’ notice of any time and place so appointed to the objector and to the other party to the dispute.

“(6) The Environment Court has power to make a declaration as if the proceeding had been brought under sections 310 to 313 of the Resource Management Act 1991.
“(7) The ﬁndings of the Environment Court are binding on the ob­ jector and the other party to the dispute.

“(8) The Environment Court may award those costs that it consid­ ers just either in favour of or against either party.

“(9) Subject to sections 299 to 308 of the Resource Management Act 1991, no appeal lies from any declaration of the Environ­ ment Court under this section.

“Compare: 1981 No 35 s 24”.
13 (1) New headings and sections 158A to 158F inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, after the Part 14 heading, the following headings and sections: 13 s 13 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “Subpart 1—General electricity matters “Financial statements of customer and community trusts “158A Community and customer trusts to prepare audited ﬁnancial statements The trustees of a community trust and the trustees of a cus­ tomer trust must, within 4 months after the end of each ﬁnan­ cial year of the trust,— “(a) prepare ﬁnancial statements in accordance with gener­ ally accepted accounting practice (within the meaning of section 3 of the Financial Reporting Act 1993, ap­ plied as if trusts were reporting entities) with respect to the affairs of the trust for that ﬁnancial year; and submit those ﬁnancial statements to an auditor for audit; and “(b) “(c) make available to the public in accordance with section 158B those audited ﬁnancial statements and the audi­ tor’s report on those ﬁnancial statements.
“158B Publication of audited ﬁnancial statements “(1) The trustees of a community trust and the trustees of a cus­ tomer trust must make the documents referred to in section 158A(c) available to the public by making copies of them available— “(a) for inspection at every ofﬁce of the trust or at any other place speciﬁed in the notiﬁcation under subsection (2) (during ordinary ofﬁce hours) free of charge; and for purchase at a reasonable price.
“(b) “(2) The trustees must also notify the fact that copies are so avail­ able (and where) by advertisement in the news section of 2 separate editions of each newspaper that is widely read by cus­ tomers of the customer trust or by persons in the community of the community trust (as the case requires).
“158C Auditor of trusts “(1) The trustees of a community trust or a customer trust must, in each ﬁnancial year, hold an annual meeting of beneﬁciaries at which the beneﬁciaries appoint an auditor to hold ofﬁce from 14 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 13 the conclusion of that meeting until the conclusion of the next annual meeting of beneﬁciaries.
“(2) The trustees of a community trust or a customer trust may ﬁll any casual vacancy in the ofﬁce of auditor by appointing an auditor to hold ofﬁce until the conclusion of the next annual meeting of beneﬁciaries (but, while the vacancy remains, the surviving or continuing auditor, if any, may continue to act as auditor).
“(3) The fees and expenses of the auditor must be ﬁxed— “(a) at the annual meeting of beneﬁciaries or in the way the beneﬁciaries determine at the meeting, if appointed at the annual meeting: “(b) by the trustees, if appointed by the trustees.
“(4) An auditor of a community trust or customer trust— “(a) must be a person who is qualiﬁed to act as an auditor under section 199(1) of the Companies Act 1993 and, in selecting an auditor, the beneﬁciaries may seek the advice of the Auditor­General: “(b) must not be a trustee, director, employee, or agent of the trust or of any electricity company owned by the trust or otherwise disqualiﬁed from being an auditor under section 199(2)(b) and (d) of the Companies Act 1993.
In addition, sections 198, 200, and 202 to 207 of the Compan­ ies Act 1993 apply in relation to the auditor.

“(5) “(6) These sections of the Companies Act 1993 apply as if refer­ ences to a company were to a trust, references to a director were to a trustee, references to a board were to the trustees, references to shareholders were to beneﬁciaries, references to a subsidiary were to an electricity company owned by the trust and that company’s subsidiaries, and all other necessary modi­ ﬁcations were made.
In this section, electricity company has the meaning set out in section 3(1) of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998.
“(7) “158D Procedures for annual meeting to appoint auditor “(1) The trustees must give no less than 14 days’ notice of the an­ nual meeting of beneﬁciaries to appoint an auditor in the news section of 2 separate editions of each newspaper that is widely 15 s 13 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 read by customers of the customer trust or by persons in the community of the community trust (as the case requires).

“(2) Every beneﬁciary has 1 vote.


“(3) The quorum for the annual meeting is 20 beneﬁciaries.

“(4) No business may be transacted at the annual meeting if a quo­ rum is not present.

“(5) The regulations under section 172C (if any) may govern pro­ ceedings at the annual meeting.
“158E Auditor­General to be auditor if no other auditor “(1) appointed If no auditor is appointed in accordance with section 158C(1) or a casual vacancy in the ofﬁce of auditor is not ﬁlled within 1 month of the vacancy occurring in accordance with section 158C(2), the Auditor­General must be the auditor of a com­ munity trust or customer trust.
“(3) “(2) The trustees of a community trust or customer trust must, within 5 working days of subsection (1) becoming applicable, give written notice to the Auditor­General of this fact.

If this section applies, the sections and Parts of the Public Audit Act 2001 listed in section 19 of that Act apply to the trust, until an auditor is appointed at an annual meeting of beneﬁciaries, as if references in those sections to a public en­ tity were references to the trust and with any other necessary modiﬁcations.
“158F Application of sections 158A to 158E “(1) The trustees of a community trust and the trustees of a cus­ tomer trust must comply with sections 158A and 158B, rather than section 46A of the Energy Companies Act 1992.
“(2) Except as provided in subsection (1), nothing in sections 158A to 158E limits any other enactment or rule of law concerning the maintenance and auditing of the ﬁnancial statements of a person.” Sections 158C to 158E (as inserted by subsection (1)) apply to a community trust or customer trust for a ﬁnancial year that begins no sooner than 6 months after the commencement of this section, and for subsequent ﬁnancial years.
(2) 16 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 14 (1) (2) (3) 15 16 Repeal and saving of information disclosure provisions The principal Act is amended by repealing sections 170, 171, 171A, and 172 and the heading above section 170.

The Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999 continue in force until they are revoked, despite the repeal of section 170.
Sections 171, 171A, and 172 continue in force for the purpose of the continuation of the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999 under subsection (2).

Repeal of section 170A The principal Act is amended by repealing section 170A.
New subpart 2 and Part 15 inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, after section 172, the following subpart and Part: “ “ “Subpart 2—Electricity industry regulation­making powers “172A Outline of subpart “(1) In this subpart, the principal regulation­making powers are as follows: “(a) regulations may be made under section 172B on a low ﬁxed charge tariff option or options for domestic con­ sumers and under section 172C on a code on access for beneﬁciaries of customer and community trusts: electricity governance regulations and rules may be made under sections 172D and 172H on the wholesale market and transmission of electricity: under section 172E, these electricity governance regu­ lations and rules on wholesale and transmission matters may be made only if EGB is established (and then ei­ ther for transitional purposes or to implement the sub­ stantive effect of a recommendation by EGB) and in ac­ cordance with the process in that section: “(b) “(c) 17 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(d) other electricity governance regulations and rules may “(e) be made under sections 172F and 172H: under section 172H, these other electricity governance regulations and rules may be made whether or not EGB is established or has made a recommendation, but only in accordance with the process in that section.
“(2) This section is intended only as a guide to the general scheme and effect of the principal regulation­making powers in this Part.
“Regulations—Low ﬁxed charge tariff option for domestic consumers “(2) “172B Low ﬁxed charge tariff option for domestic consumers “(1) The objective of this section is to enable the making of regu­ lations to ensure that electricity providers offer a low ﬁxed charge tariff option or options for delivered electricity to do­ mestic consumers that will assist low­use consumers and en­ courage energy conservation.
In this section,— “delivered electricity includes components like electricity supply, line function services, customer service, meter provi­ sion, and meter reading services “electricity provider means an electricity retailer or other business that contracts with consumers to sell delivered electricity or a component of delivered electricity “ﬁxed charge means a charge levied for each customer con­ nection in currency per time period (for example, cents per day).
“(3) The Governor­General may, by Order in Council, make regu­ lations— “(a) requiring electricity providers to make available to do­ mestic consumers 1 or more tariff options that include a ﬁxed charge for delivered electricity to domestic premises at not more than a speciﬁed amount or pro­ portion calculated by reference to the total charge of the average or median domestic consumer: regulating the variable (cents per kilowatt hour) charges in those required tariff options to ensure that average “(b) 18 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(c) “(d) or median domestic consumers would pay no more on the required tariff option than on any alternative option available from that electricity provider: regulating other charges and other terms and conditions of the contracts to which the low ﬁxed charge tariff op­ tions in paragraph (a) relate, to ensure that they are not, in the opinion of the Minister, unreasonably detrimental to the interests of low­use consumers: setting rules as to the offering, supply, advertisement, promotion, availability, and unbundling of regulated charging options: specifying criteria for the Minister to exempt electricity providers, or electricity providers in relation to particu­ lar areas, from the application of the regulations if, in the opinion of the Minister, the electricity providers ma­ terially comply with the objective of this section.
If the components that make up the delivered electricity are unbundled, regulations may be made under subsection (3) for each component, or group of components, of delivered elec­ tricity to ensure that the objective of this section is achieved for the aggregate of all the components.

“(e) “(4) “(5) Subsection (4) applies regardless of whether different compo­ nents of delivered electricity are supplied by the same electri­ city provider.
“(6) Regulations made under subsection (3) may provide for the way in which the total charge of the average or median domes­ tic consumer is to be assessed, which may be (without limita­ tion) calculated with reference to national data or the data re­ lating to any electricity retailer or electricity distributor.
“(7) The Governor­General may, for the purpose of assisting re­ tailers to deliver low ﬁxed charge tariff options, by Order in Council, make regulations— “(a) regulating all or any charges charged by electricity dis­ tributors to ensure that they are not, in the opinion of the Minister, unreasonably detrimental to the interests of low­use consumers: regulating the terms and conditions under which elec­ tricity distributors supply their services in relation to domestic consumers to ensure that they are not, in the “(b) 19 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 opinion of the Minister, unreasonably detrimental to the interests of low­use consumers: setting rules as to the offering, availability, supply, and unbundling of electricity distributors’ services.
“(c) “(8) The Governor­General may, by Order in Council, make regu­ lations providing for the supply and collection of information from electricity providers and electricity distributors— “(a) about contracts, offers, advertising, or promotion relat­ ing to the supply of delivered electricity, or components of delivered electricity, to domestic consumers; or information that is necessary for the purposes of calcu­ lating the total charge for the average or median domes­ tic consumer.
“(b) “(9) Subsection (7) does not apply to Transpower.

“Regulations—Code on access for beneﬁciaries of community and customer trusts “172C Regulations for code on access for beneﬁciaries of customer and community trusts “(1) The objective of this section is to enable the making of regu­ lations to promote the accountability of community and cus­ tomer trusts to their beneﬁciaries.
“(2) The Governor­General may, by Order in Council, make regu­ lations for all or any of the following purposes in relation to community trusts and customer trusts: “(a) providing for a code of practice for those trusts and their trustees that speciﬁes— “(i) requirements for trustees to disclose to bene­ ﬁciaries information of the kind that they are required to disclose to beneﬁciaries under the Trustee Act 1956, the relevant trust deed, and any other rule of law: “(ii) procedures and other matters concerning requests for information, decisions on those requests, and the form in which information must be provided: “(iii) requirements for those trustees to hold at least 1 annual meeting that beneﬁciaries may attend and other matters concerning those meetings, includ­ 20 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 ing notice requirements, the rights of beneﬁciar­ ies to attend and to receive copies of minutes of or other material relating to those meetings, and a requirement for the chairperson of those meet­ ings to allow a reasonable opportunity for bene­ ﬁciaries at the meeting to question, discuss, or comment on the management of the trust: “(b) providing for rights of review of acts and decisions of trustees concerning matters governed by the code, the powers and procedures of the person or court undertak­ ing that review, and consequential rights of appeal or review.
“(3) Nothing in the code under subsection (2)(a) limits any rights to information under any other enactment or rule of law.

“Electricity governance regulations “172D Electricity governance regulations for wholesale market and transmission of electricity “(1) The Governor­General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister in accordance with section 172E, make regulations for all or any of the purposes in sub­ section (2).
“(2) The purposes are— “(a) “(b) “(c) “Wholesale electricity market providing for the establishment and operation of whole­ sale markets for electricity, including for pricing and determining quantities of electricity for market trans­ actions; for clearing, settling, and reconciling market transactions; for scheduling and dispatching electricity; for disclosure of market information; for minimum pru­ dential standards for market participation; and for min­ imum standards of market conduct: requiring participants in wholesale electricity markets or classes of participants to comply with the matters in paragraph (a): “Transmission of electricity prescribing reasonable terms and conditions on which Transpower must enable distribution lines and gener­ 21 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(d) “(e) ators and users of electricity to be connected to the na­ tional grid, and that must be complied with in connect­ ing to the national grid: regulating the way in which expansions, replacements, or upgrades of the national grid or parts of the national grid must be evaluated, carried out, and funded, includ­ ing specifying— “(i) the circumstances in which Transpower must generally carry out expansions, replacements, or upgrades: “(ii) particular expansions, replacements, or upgrades that Transpower must carry out: “(iii) the methodology on which costs for expansions, replacements, or upgrades must be allocated among industry participants, or the actual al­ location of those costs, and providing for their payment by industry participants: “(iv) obligations for Transpower to report annually in relation to forecasts of medium­term system ade­ quacy to assist in identifying opportunities for the use of alternatives to expansions, replacements, or upgrades: setting quality and security standards for the transmis­ sion system or parts of the transmission system, or for the use of that system or part, and requiring industry participants to comply with those standards: requiring the use by Transpower of a speciﬁed
 methodology or component of a methodology for allocating Transpower’s rev­ enue requirement to individual electricity generators, electri­ city retailers, electricity distributors, line owners, customers, or consumers, or classes of any of those persons, including— deﬁning the charges for any of those persons or classes “(i) of any of those persons: imposing quality standards generally or in respect of the supply of transmission services to any of those persons or classes of any of those persons: “(ii) “(iii) requiring a speciﬁed person or class of persons receiv­ ing (either directly or indirectly) goods or services from Transpower to pay a speciﬁed amount or proportion of “(f) 22 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 the total price, or the total price, for those goods or ser­ vices: “(iv) authorising a way or ways in which Transpower may apply the methodology.
“172E Conditions and process for recommendations on electricity governance regulations for wholesale market and transmission of electricity “(1) The Minister may recommend electricity governance regula­ tions under section 172D only if— “(a) EGB is established; and the recommendation— “(b) “(i) is for transitional purposes if EGB is established but has not yet made a recommendation to the Minister on the matter; or implements the substantive effect of a recom­ mendation by EGB to the Minister.
“(ii) “(2) The following process applies to recommendations by the Minister and EGB concerning those regulations: “(a) sections 172W to 172Z apply in relation to EGB’s rec­ ommendation: “(b) before making a recommendation, EGB or, if there is no EGB recommendation, the Minister must consult with persons that EGB or the Minister (as the case may be) thinks are representative of the interests of persons likely to be substantially affected by the proposed regu­ lations: “(c) EGB and the Minister must each, before making a rec­ ommendation, have regard to the following objectives: energy and other resources are used efﬁciently: “(i) risks relating to security of supply are properly “(ii) and efﬁciently managed: “(iii) the full costs of producing and transporting each additional unit of electricity are signalled: “(iv) delivered electricity costs and prices are subject to downward pressure: the quality of electricity services as far as pos­ sible reﬂects customers’ preferences: transmission losses and constraints are signalled: “(v) “(vi) 23 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(vii) consistency with the Government’s climate change policies and objectives is achieved.
“(3) Subsection (2)(b) does not apply if EGB or the Minister (as the case may be) considers that it is necessary or desirable in the public interest that the proposed regulations be made urgently and, in this case, the recommendation must state that it is made in reliance on this subsection and then, within 6 months of those regulations being made,— “(a) EGB or the Minister must consult on the regulations in “(b) accordance with subsection (2)(b); and after that consultation, the Minister must publish a no­ tice in the Gazette stating whether or not he or she de­ cides to revoke, replace, or amend the regulations and explaining the reasons for that decision, or stating where copies of that explanation may be obtained,— and then within a further 6 months, the Minister must implement that decision.
“(4) A failure to comply with subsection (2)(b) does not affect the validity of the recommendation or regulations.

“172F Other electricity governance regulations “(1) The Governor­General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister in accordance with section 172G, make regulations for all or any of the purposes in sub­ section (2).
“(2) The purposes (and the relevant objectives applying for the pur­ pose of section 172G) are— “Complaints resolution system “(a) with the objective of promoting best industry practice and enhancing access to redress for complaints, estab­ lishing a complaints resolution system for complaints from any person (including, without limitation, poten­ tial consumers and landowners) about electricity dis­ tributors and electricity retailers, to be administered in­ dependently of those electricity distributors and electri­ city retailers, containing— “(i) a code of practice setting minimum standards of conduct, and containing benchmarks for best 24 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(ii) practice, for electricity distributors and electri­ city retailers: requirements for electricity distributors and elec­ tricity retailers to establish and maintain proced­ ures for handling complaints (including referring complaints to EGB, each other, or other agencies for their consideration): “(iii) procedures for complaints to be made to a com­ plaints resolution agency, and providing for the powers and procedures of that agency in rela­ tion to the handling of, investigation of, reporting on, and the making of recommendations or de­ cisions on those complaints (including referring complaints to EGB or other agencies for their consideration): “(iv) provision for compensation up to a maximum of $20,000 to be awarded and other actions to be taken by the complaints resolution agency re­ ferred to in subparagraph (iii) in relation to those complaints: “(v) provision for rights of appeal or review in rela­ “(vi) for tion to decisions relating to those complaints: resolution requirements agency to collect and publish aggregated stat­ istical information on the use of prepayment meters and on disconnections: the complaints “(b) “(c) “Prepayment meters requiring electricity retailers to offer prepayment meters to domestic consumers at a reasonable cost, and pre­ scribing conditions on which those meters must be sup­ plied,
 with the objective of ensuring that all domestic consumers who wish to pay for electricity in advance have the option to do so at reasonable cost: “Ability of consumers to choose preferred electricity retailer providing a system or set of rules that will enable any consumer or class of consumer to choose, and alternate, between competing electricity retailers, with the object­ 25 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(d) “(e) “(f) ive of promoting competition in electricity retail mar­ kets: requiring all users of the national grid or distribution lines to comply with, and give effect to, a system or set of rules that will enable any consumer or class of consumer to choose, and alternate, between compet­ ing electricity retailers, with the objective of promoting competition in electricity retail markets: “Transition arrangements for insolvent electricity retailers providing a system of transition arrangements for con­ sumers in the event of an electricity retailer becoming insolvent, and requiring industry participants to comply with that system, with the objective of protecting con­ sumers or managing the liabilities of other electricity retailers: “Connection of generation to distribution lines prescribing reasonable terms and conditions on which line owners and electricity distributors must enable gen­ erators to be connected to distribution lines other than the national grid, and that must be complied with in con­ necting to those distribution lines, with the objective of facilitating the use of distributed generation and ensur­ ing that generators using distributed generation do not face barriers in connecting to those lines: “Hydro spill “(g) with the objective of providing transparency on hydro spill and so minimising hydro spill and promoting the efﬁcient use of energy and other resources,— “(i) “(ii) requiring hydro­generators to disclose informa­ tion in relation to the amount, location, timing of, and reasons for, any hydro spill from works owned by
 that hydro­generator: requiring hydro­generators to use a prescribed methodology or model in calculating hydro spill: “(iii) requiring hydro­generators to obtain an annual audit of the disclosure in subparagraph (i) from an organisation nominated by the Minister (af­ 26 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 ter consultation with the Minister for the Envir­ onment), and specifying requirements relating to that audit: “Hedge prices requiring electricity retailers and electricity generators to supply information relevant to hedge prices to a cen­ tral collection agency that is involved in the governance or administration of the electricity industry, and requir­ ing that agency to collate and disclose aggregated infor­ mation on hedge prices, with the objective of providing information on the expected balance between electri­ city supply and demand to help investors and consumers make decisions on providing for security of electricity supply: “Dispute resolution procedure providing procedures for resolving disputes between in­ dustry participants: providing for the operation and facilitation of those dis­ pute resolution procedures by a person, and the powers and procedures of that person: “(h) “(i) “(j) “Enforcement of electricity governance regulations “(k) providing for compliance with electricity governance regulations and rules to be monitored and enforced by EGB or any other person or court, and the powers and procedure of that person or court.
In subsection (2)(h), electricity generator means a person who owns or operates assets that, whether taken individually or as a whole, have a rated electricity generating capacity equal to or greater than 10 megawatts.

“(3) “172G Process for recommendations on other electricity governance regulations “(1) The Minister may recommend electricity governance regula­ tions under section 172F whether or not EGB is established and whether or not EGB has made a recommendation on the matter to the Minister.
“(2) The following process applies to recommendations by the Minister and EGB concerning those regulations: 27 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(a) sections 172W to 172Z apply in relation to EGB’s rec­ ommendation: “(c) “(b) before making a recommendation, EGB must consult with persons that EGB thinks are representative of the interests of persons likely to be substantially affected by the proposed regulations: if there is no EGB recommendation or the Minis­ ter thinks that his or her proposed recommendation substantially departs from EGB’s recommendation, the Minister must, before making a recommenda­ tion, consult with persons that the Minister thinks are representative of the interests of persons likely to be substantially affected by the proposed regulations: “(d) before making a recommendation concerning regula­ tions under section 172F(2)(a), the Minister must con­ sult with the Minister of Consumer Affairs: “(f) “(e) EGB and the Minister must each, before making a recommendation, have regard to the relevant objective contained in section 172F(2): if EGB has made a recommendation to the Minister on the matter, the Minister must have regard to EGB’s rec­ ommendation before making his or her own recommen­ dation.
“(3) Subsection (2)(b), (c), and (d) does not apply if EGB or the Minister (as the case may be) considers that it is necessary or desirable in the public interest that the proposed regulations be made urgently and, in this case, the recommendation must state that it is made in reliance on this subsection and then, within 6 months of those regulations being made,— “(a) the Minister must consult on the regulations in accord­ ance with subsection (2)(c); and after that consultation, the Minister must publish a no­ tice in the Gazette stating whether or not he or she de­ cides to revoke, replace, or amend the regulations and explaining the reasons for that decision, or stating where copies of that explanation may be obtained,— and then within a further 6 months, the Minister must implement that decision.
“(b) 28 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(4) A failure to comply with subsection (2)(b), (c), or (d) does not affect the validity of the recommendation or regulations.

“172H Electricity governance rules “(1) The Minister may make a rule for all or any of the purposes for which an electricity governance regulation may be made.
In deciding whether to make a rule rather than recommend the making of an electricity governance regulation, the Minister must have regard to only— “(a) “(2) the importance of the rule, including whether the rule has a material effect on the rights and interests of indi­ viduals: the subject matter of the rule, including whether the rule contains detailed or technical matters rather than mat­ ters of general principle: the application of the rule, including— “(i) whether the rule applies principally to a particular group (eg, industry participants) rather than the general public: “(ii) whether the beneﬁts of publication in accordance with section 172I rather than the Acts and Regu­ lations Publication Act 1989 outweigh the costs of publication by that method: the expertise and rule­making procedures of the agency that has recommended the rule (eg, the expertise of EGB).
“(b) “(c) “(d) “(3) If the Minister makes, or EGB recommends, a rule for a purpose for which an electricity governance regulation may be made, the Minister and EGB must comply with the same conditions and process that would apply under section 172E or section 172G if they were making recommendations on that electricity governance regulation, and those sections apply (with all necessary modiﬁcations) accordingly.

“(4) Section 172I applies to the method of making the rule.
“(5) A rule is a regulation for the purposes of the Regulations (Dis­ allowance) Act 1989 (but not for the purposes of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989).

29 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(6) To the extent that a rule is inconsistent with an electricity gov­ ernance regulation, the rule is subject to the electricity govern­ ance regulation.
If a court holds that a rule has been made in contravention of subsection (2), it may declare the rule invalid with effect from a date speciﬁed by the court (but that date must be at least 6 months after the date on which the declaration was made).
“(7) “172I Method of making electricity governance rules “(1) A rule may be made under section 172H by the Minister pub­ lishing a notice in the Gazette that states— “(a) the empowering provision for the electricity govern­ ance regulation in relation to which the rule is made and a brief description of the nature of the rule; and “(b) where copies of the rule are available for inspection and purchase.

“(2) The notice in the Gazette need not contain the rule.
“(3) A rule comes into force 28 days after the date on which it is notiﬁed in the Gazette or on any later date stated in the notice.
“(4) The Minister or, if it is established, EGB must make all of the rules made under section 172H available to the public by making copies of them available— “(a) for inspection, free of charge,— “(i) at the Ministry or the principal ofﬁce of the EGB (during ordinary ofﬁce hours), as the case re­ quires; and “(ii) on the Internet in an electronic form that is pub­ licly accessible (at all reasonable times); and “(b) for purchase at a reasonable price.
“Supplementary provisions “172J Supplementary empowering provision for regulations and rules “(1) Any regulations made under sections 172B to 172F and any rules made under section 172H may— “(a) provide for the establishment of 1 or more persons or bodies or groups of persons to carry out functions in re­ lation to those regulations or rules, and for matters con­ 30 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 cerning their constitution, functions, members (includ­ ing their appointment, removal, duties, and protection from liability), procedures, employees, administration and operation, funding by industry participants, and re­ porting requirements: “(b) prescribe the form and manner in which information is “(c) to be disclosed: require disclosed information, or information from which disclosed information is derived (in whole or in part), to be certiﬁed, in the prescribed form and manner, by persons belonging to any speciﬁed class of persons: “(d) prescribe when and for how long information must be “(e) “(f) disclosed: exempt or provide for exemptions (including provide for the revocation of exemptions), on any terms and conditions, of any person or class of persons from all or any of the requirements in regulations made under sections 172B to 172F and rules made under section 172H: provide for the supply of information for the purpose of administration and enforcement of this Act, and regula­ tions and rules made under this Act: “(g) provide for transitional provisions: “(h) provide for any other matters contemplated by this Act or necessary for its administration or necessary for giv­ ing it full effect.
“(2) Regulations or rules that may be made in respect of all industry participants or classes of industry participants may be made in respect of all or any of the persons in that class and in respect of all or part of their business.
“172K Supplementary empowering provision for regulations Any regulations made under sections 172B to 172F may— “(a) provide for offences that are punishable by summary conviction for a contravention of those regulations, or of rules made under section 172H, and provide for penal­ ties not exceeding $20,000 for those offences: 31 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(b) provide for compensation, civil penalties, and other ac­ tions that may be taken in respect of contraventions of those regulations or of rules made under section 172H: confer and provide for rights of appeal and review in relation to decisions relating to contraventions of the regulations or of rules made under section 172H.
“(c) “Part15 “Governance of electricity industry “Preliminary provisions “172L Purpose The purpose of this Part is to— “(a) enable the establishment of the Electricity Governance Board to be responsible for— “(i) developing recommendations on electricity gov­ ernance regulations or rules that promote its prin­ cipal objective in accordance with subpart 1: “(ii) other matters relating to the governance of the electricity industry in accordance with section 172O: ensure the accountability of electricity governance or­ ganisations in accordance with subpart 2.
“(b) “Subpart 1—Electricity Governance Board “172M Establishment of Electricity Governance Board “(1) This section establishes an organisation called the Electricity Governance Board (EGB).

“(2) EGB is a Crown entity for the purposes of the Public Finance Act 1989.

“172N Principal objective of EGB The principal objective of EGB is to ensure that electricity is generated, conveyed, and supplied to all classes of consumers in an efﬁcient, fair, reliable, and environmentally sustainable manner.
32 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “172O Functions of EGB “(1) The functions of EGB are to— “(a) “(b) “(c) formulate and make recommendations concerning elec­ tricity governance regulations and rules in accordance with this subpart: administer, monitor compliance with, enforce, and ap­ ply penalties or other remedies for contraventions of electricity governance regulations and rules: establish, operate, and facilitate the operation of (by contracting with other parties, entering into a joint venture company or contractual arrangement, or other means) markets for industry participants: “(d) develop best practice distribution pricing methodolo­ gies and other standards and model agreements for use by industry participants: provide advice to the Minister on matters concerning the electricity industry: carry out any other functions the Minister may direct under section 172ZA.
“(e) “(f) “(2) In performing its functions, EGB must promote its principal objective.

“172P Body corporate status and powers “(1) EGB is a body corporate with perpetual succession.

“(2) Subject to this Act, EGB has— “(a) “(b) full capacity to carry on or undertake any activity or business, do any act, or enter into any transaction; and for the purposes of paragraph (a), full rights, powers, and privileges.

“(3) EGB may exercise its powers only for the purpose of carrying out its functions.
“172Q Role of board of EGB “(1) All decisions relating to the operation of EGB must be made by or under the authority of the members of EGB who number not less than the required quorum acting together as a board (EGB’s board or board) in accordance with this Act.

33 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(2) EGB’s board has all the powers necessary for carrying out its role in subsection (1).
“172R Membership of EGB’s board EGB’s board must consist of members numbering no less than 5 and no more than 9.

“Duties of members “172S Duties of members “(1) A member, when acting as a member, must act— in good faith; and “(a) “(b) with reasonable care, diligence, and skill; and “(c) with honesty and integrity; and “(d) in accordance with clauses 9 to 12 of Schedule 2A, which govern interests of members.
“(2) A member, when acting as a member, must not act as a rep­ resentative of, or promote the interests or views of, any or­ ganisation to which the member belongs, a particular industry participant, or a particular group of industry participants.
“172T Collective duties of EGB’s board EGB’s board must— “(a) not contravene, or cause EGB or any subsidiary of EGB to contravene, this Act; and ensure that EGB, and endeavour to ensure that any sub­ sidiary of EGB, acts in a manner consistent with the ob­ jectives and functions of EGB and with EGB’s current statement of intent and purchase agreement; and ensure that EGB, and endeavour to ensure that any sub­ sidiary of EGB, performs its functions efﬁciently and effectively and in a manner consistent with the spirit of service to the public; and ensure that EGB, and endeavour to ensure that any sub­ sidiary of EGB, operates in a ﬁnancially responsible manner and, for this purpose, that it— “(i) endeavours to maintain its long­term ﬁnancial vi­ ability; and “(b) “(c) “(d) 34 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(ii) endeavours to ensure that its total operating ex­ penses do not exceed its total operating revenues; and “(iii) endeavours to act as a successful going concern; and “(iv) prudently manages its assets and liabilities.
“172U Members accountable to Minister “(1) A member is accountable to the Minister for performing his or “(2) her duties and responsibilities as a member.

If EGB’s board breaches any of its duties under section 172T,— “(a) each member of that board is accountable to the Minis­ ter for the breach; and that breach justiﬁes all or any of the members being removed from ofﬁce.
“(b) “(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to a member if— “(a) he or she did not know and could not reasonably be expected to know that the duty was to be or was being breached; or “(b) he or she took all reasonable steps to prevent the duty being breached.
“(4) The duties of members and the board under section 172S are duties owed only to the Minister and EGB and the duties of members and the board under section 172T are owed only to the Minister, and they do not provide any ground of action for any other person.

“172V Further provisions as to EGB and EGB’s board in Schedule 2A Schedule 2A applies to EGB and EGB’s board.
35 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “Role of EGB in relation to electricity governance regulations and rules “172W EGB to make recommendations concerning electricity governance regulations and rules “(1) EGB must, in accordance with this subpart, formulate and make recommendations concerning regulations or rules under the following sections: “(a) section 172D, which relates to regulations for the wholesale market and transmission of electricity: section 172F, which relates to other electricity govern­ ance regulations: section 172H, which relates to electricity governance rules.
“(b) “(c) “(2) EGB’s recommendations under subsection (1) may extend to the supplementary matters stated in sections 172J and 172K in relation to those regulations and rules.

“172X Objectives of recommendations In formulating recommendations under section 172W, EGB must— “(a) “(b) have regard to its principal objective; and ensure the recommendations are consistent with any di­ rection under section 172ZA; and have regard to objectives in accordance with sections 172E(2)(c) and 172G(2)(e).
“(c) “172Y Obligation to consult EGB must, in formulating recommendations, consult with per­ sons in accordance with sections 172E(2)(b) and 172G(2)(b) (except if the consultation requirement does not apply under those sections) and consult with the Minister.
“172Z Minister must have regard to recommendations “(1) The Minister must have regard to a recommendation by EGB in exercising any of his or her powers or functions in relation to electricity governance regulations or rules, but may, in his or her absolute discretion,— 36 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(a) decide not to act on that recommendation or, for regu­ lations or rules for a purpose contained in section 172F, to depart from it: “(b) defer, for any period and reasons the Minister thinks ﬁt, “(c) making a decision on the recommendation: refer back to EGB its recommendation for further con­ sideration by EGB.
If the Minister decides not to act on an EGB recommenda­ tion, to substantially depart from an EGB recommendation, or to defer making a decision on an EGB recommendation, the Minister must publish a notice in the Gazette stating his or her decision and explaining the reasons for it or where copies of that explanation may be obtained.
“(2) “Power to direct EGB “172ZA Power to direct EGB “(1) The Minister may direct EGB— “(a) “(b) “(c) to carry out any other functions: to give effect to a government policy set out in the di­ rection: on outcomes to be achieved by EGB or objectives for EGB that are contained in, or are related to outcomes or objectives that are contained in, the statement of gov­ ernment policy under section 172ZK: “(d) on the following matters: “(i) which matters EGB must formulate and make recommendations on under section 172W: “(ii) principles or objectives for those recommenda­ tions.
“(2) A direction— “(a) under subsection (1)(a) must be consistent with the pur­ pose of this Part and the principal objective of EGB: “(b) under subsection (1)(b) to (d) must be consistent with the functions and principal objective of EGB.

“(3) EGB must, in performing its functions, comply with a direc­ tion given under subsection (1) that is in writing and signed by the Minister and complies with subsection (4).
37 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “(4) A direction to EGB must not require EGB, in respect of a par­ ticular person, to make a particular decision, or to do or refrain from doing a particular act, or to bring about a particular result (other than in relation to Transpower).

“172ZB Procedure for giving direction “(1) The Minister must consult with EGB before giving a direction to EGB.

“(2) The direction must be given in writing, be dated, and be signed by the Minister.
“(3) As soon as practicable after giving the direction, the Minister must— “(a) “(b) present a copy of it to the House of Representatives.

publish a copy of it in the Gazette; and “(4) The direction may be amended, revoked, or replaced in the same way as it may be given.

“Levy of industry participants “172ZC Levy of industry participants “(1) Every industry participant (or prescribed class of industry par­ ticipants) must pay to the Minister a levy prescribed by regu­ lations under section 172ZE.
“(2) The regulations under that section may— “(a) “(b) “(c) specify the amount of levies or method of calculating or ascertaining the amount of levies, on the basis that the estimated costs of performing EGB’s functions, powers, and duties under this Act, and of collecting the levy money, should be met fully out of levies: include or provide for including in levies any shortfall in recovering those actual costs: refund or provide for refunds of any over­recovery of those actual costs: “(d) provide different levies for different classes of industry “(e) participants: specify the ﬁnancial year or part ﬁnancial year to which those levies apply, and apply to that ﬁnancial year or part and each subsequent ﬁnancial year until revoked or replaced: 38 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(f) “(g) “(h) “(i) provide for the payment and collection of those levies: for the ﬁrst ﬁnancial year to which the levy applies, in­ clude in the levy amount or method the costs of per­ forming EGB’s functions, duties, and powers under this Act from the date on which this subpart comes into force, irrespective of the fact that the regulations may be made and come into effect after that date: require payment of a levy for a ﬁnancial year or part ﬁ­ nancial year, irrespective of the fact that the regulations may be made after that ﬁnancial year has commenced: exempt or provide for exemptions from, or provide for waivers of, the whole or any part of the levy for any case or class of cases.
“(3) The amount of any unpaid levy is recoverable in any court of “(4) competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown.

In this section, industry participant does not include a person who is only an industry participant by reason of being involved in the governance or administration of the electricity industry.

“172ZD Accountability of EGB “Miscellaneous EGB is accountable to the Minister in accordance with Part V of the Public Finance Act 1989 and subpart 2.
“172ZE Regulations The Governor­General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes: “(b) providing for the levies under section 172ZC: “(c) providing for any other matters contemplated by this subpart or necessary for its administration or necessary for giving it full effect.

“172ZF EGB is public authority “(1) EGB is a public authority for the purposes of the Inland Rev­ “(2) enue Acts.
In this section, Inland Revenue Acts has the same meaning as in section 3(1) of the Tax Administration Act 1994.
39 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “172ZG Amendment to Ombudsmen Act 1975 “ The Ombudsmen Act 1975 is amended by inserting in Part II of the First Schedule, in its appropriate alphabetical order, the following item: ‘Electricity Governance Board and every subsidiary of the Electricity Governance Board.’ “ “172ZH Amendment to Public Finance Act 1989 “ The Public Finance Act 1989 is amended by inserting in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Schedules, in its appropriate alphabet­ ical order, the following item: ‘Electricity Governance Board.’ “ “Subpart 2—Accountability of electricity governance organisations “172ZI Application of subpart “(1) This subpart applies to— “(a) EGB, if it is established; and “(b) any person to whom it applies under subsection (2),— and each is called an electricity governance organisa­ tion in this subpart.
“(2) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette,— “(a) “(b) apply this subpart to any person or group of persons in­ volved in developing rules or standards applying to any industry participants under a contract, arrangement, or understanding between those participants, or in moni­ toring or enforcing the contract, arrangement, or under­ standing, or otherwise involved in the governance of the electricity industry; and cease to apply this subpart to that person or group.
“(3) The Minister may nominate a report date for that person or group in the notice under subsection (2).
“172ZJ Interpretation In this subpart, unless the context otherwise requires,— “GPS objectives and outcomes means the objectives and outcomes that apply to an electricity governance organisation under section 172ZK 40 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “performance standards means the performance targets, measures, and satisfactory performance standard agreed for an electricity governance organisation under section 172ZL “report date means,— “(a) “(b) for EGB, the close of 30 June in each calendar year: for other electricity governance organisations, the close of 30 June in each calendar year or any other date in each calendar year that the Minister nominates as the organisation’s report date in the notice under section 172ZI “reporting period means, for an electricity governance organ­ isation,— “(a) the period from the date on which this subpart applies to the organisation under section 172ZI and ending on the organisation’s report date; and each subsequent 12­month period ending on the organ­ isation’s report date.
“(b) “172ZK Setting of GPS objectives and outcomes “(1) The Minister must set objectives and outcomes that the Gov­ ernment wants an electricity governance organisation to pur­ sue in relation to the governance of the electricity industry, and against which an electricity governance organisation must re­ port and be examined in accordance with this subpart.
“(2) The Minister must set those objectives and outcomes by— “(a) giving the electricity governance organisation a state­ ment of government policy containing those objectives and outcomes (GPS objectives and outcomes); or “(b) giving the electricity governance organisation an amendment to, or replacement of, that statement.
“(3) Each statement (or amendment to, or replacement of, a state­ ment) under subsection (2) must be published in the Gazette and presented to the House of Representatives as soon as prac­ ticable after it is given to the electricity governance organisa­ tion.
41 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “172ZL Agreement of annual performance standards “(1) An electricity governance organisation (other than EGB) must, within 3 months after the commencement of each reporting period, agree performance standards with the Minister for that reporting period.
“(2) The performance standards— “(a) must include the performance targets and other meas­ ures by which the performance of the organisation may be judged; and “(b) must state the overall standard of performance by the organisation that will be considered satisfactory at the end of the reporting period (satisfactory performance standard); and “(c) must be matters against which the organisation’s actual performance may be reported and audited; and “(d) must relate to all of the GPS objectives and outcomes that are affected, or could be affected, by a wholesale market or a transmission matter contained in section 172D; and “(e) may relate to any other GPS objectives and outcomes, but to no other matter.
“(3) Before agreeing the performance standards, the Minister must consult with the Auditor­General on whether the proposed performance standards meet the requirements in subsection (2)(c), (d), and (e).
“172ZM Annual performance report to Minister “(1) An electricity governance organisation must, within 3 months after the organisation’s report date, deliver to the Minister a report on its operations during the last reporting period, and submit that annual report to the Auditor­General for an assur­ ance audit under section 172ZO.
“(2) The annual report— “(a) must contain the information that is necessary to enable an informed assessment to be made of the performance of the organisation against the GPS objectives and out­ comes and (for organisations other than EGB) against the performance standards; but 42 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 16 “(b) need not contain information on the organisation’s ﬁ­ nancial performance.
“172ZN Minister must present annual performance report to House of Representatives The Minister must present copies of every annual report pro­ vided to him or her under section 172ZM to the House of Rep­ resentatives as soon as practicable after receiving that report.
“172ZO Assurance audit by Auditor­General “(1) The Auditor­General— “(a) must examine the annual report provided to the Auditor­ General under section 172ZM and report to the Minister and the House of Representatives as soon as practicable after receiving the annual report: “(b) may, at any time, examine the information to be con­ tained in the annual report and the systems of an electri­ city governance organisation, and report on that exam­ ination to the Minister and the House of Representa­ tives.
“(2) The Auditor­General’s report under subsection (1) must— “(a) “(b) provide assurance on— “(i) the appropriateness, adequacy, and accuracy of the information contained, or to be contained, in the annual report; and “(ii) whether the annual report enables, or is likely to enable, an informed assessment to be made of the matters stated in section 172ZM(2)(a); and (for organisations other than EGB) state whether or not the organisation has met the satisfactory performance standard or that the organisation’s annual report does not enable an informed assessment of whether or not it has done so.
“(3) A report under subsection (1)(a) that states that an electricity governance organisation has not met the satisfactory perform­ ance standard or that its annual report does not enable an in­ formed assessment of whether or not it has done so is a nega­ tive annual audit report for the purpose of section 5 of the Electricity Amendment Act 2001.
43 s 16 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 “172ZP Report by Parliamentary Commissioner for Environment “(1) The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment must examine, in accordance with subsection (2), the extent to which an electricity governance organisation is meeting the GPS objectives and outcomes concerning the environment.
“(2) The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment— “(b) “(a) must, as soon as practicable after each report date of an electricity governance organisation, carry out the exam­ ination in subsection (1) in respect of the last reporting period and report to the House of Representatives on the results of the examination: in addition, may carry out the examination in subsection (1) and report to the House of Representatives on the results of the examination at any other time.
“(3) A report under subsection (2)(a) that states that an electricity governance organisation has failed signiﬁcantly and overall to meet the GPS objectives and outcomes concerning the envir­ onment that are affected, or could be affected, by a wholesale market or a transmission matter contained in section 172D is a negative annual audit report for the purpose of section 5 of the Electricity Amendment Act 2001.
“172ZQ Functions under this subpart “(1) The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment may exercise all of the Commissioner’s powers under the Envir­ onment Act 1986 in relation to the functions in this subpart, and that Act applies to those functions as if they were func­ tions conferred under that Act.

“(2) The Public Audit Act 2001 applies with respect to the assur­ ance audit of an electricity governance organisation, as if it were a public entity as deﬁned in section 4 of that Act.
“(3) The functions conferred on the Auditor­General and the Par­ liamentary Commissioner for the Environment by this subpart are additional to, and do not limit, the Auditor­General’s or the Commissioner’s functions, duties, and powers under the Pub­ lic Audit Act 2001 or the Environment Act 1986 (as the case may be).
44 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 19 “172ZR Offences “(1) Every person commits an offence who,— “(b) “(a) when required to do so by or under this subpart, know­ ingly fails to produce any information that is in that per­ son’s possession or under that person’s control in rela­ tion to the management, performance, or activities of an electricity governance organisation: intentionally obstructs, hinders, or resists any person in the exercise of the person’s powers under any enactment in relation to the person’s functions under this subpart: “(c) makes a statement or gives information when required to do so by or under this subpart, knowing that the state­ ment or information is false or misleading.
“(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is li­ able on summary conviction,— “(a) in the case of an individual, to a ﬁne not exceeding $2,000: in the case of a person or organisation other than an individual, to a ﬁne not exceeding $5,000.” “(b) 17 18 19 New Part 16 heading inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, before the heading “Repeals, revocations, amendments, and savings”, the follow­ ing heading: “Part16 “Repeals, etc, and transitional provisions” New Schedule 2A inserted The principal Act is amended by inserting, after Schedule 2, Schedule 2A as set out in the Schedule of this Act.
Transitional provision for Transpower’s pricing methodology on and after 26 July 2001 (1) Any person who has assets that are directly connected to the national grid must pay for grid connection services pro­ vided on and after 26 July 2001 the amount that is charged by Transpower in accordance with the transitional pricing methodology.
45 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 The transitional pricing methodology is the pricing method­ ology contained in Pricing for Grid Connection Services from 1 April 2001, as published by Transpower in December 2000, without being affected by any year­speciﬁc data that is, or may later be, appended to that methodology.
The amount payable under subsection (1)— (a) is recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to Transpower; and (b) may be challenged in any proceedings to recover the debt on the ground that Transpower has incorrectly ap­ plied the methodology in a manner that is adverse to the payer, but the methodology itself may not be chal­ lenged.
This section applies— (a) except to the extent that it would limit or override any new or existing agreement that is binding on Trans­ power and the other person; and until the end of the transitional period.

(b) The transitional period ends on the close of 6 April 2004. s 20 (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) Subsection (5) was substituted, as from 26 January 2004, by section 30 Electri­ city Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 80).
Subsection (6) was repealed, as from 26 January 2004, by section 30 Electricity Amendment Act 2004 (2004 No 80).
20 Savings provision for Transpower’s pricing methodology before 26 July 2001 (1) No person who owns assets that are directly connected to the national grid may, on or after 26 July 2001,— (a) recover in court any amount paid for grid connection services provided by Transpower before 26 July 2001; or (b) make any set­off, counterclaim, or deduction in respect of all or any part of such an amount, against or from any amount that is owing to Transpower under section 19 or otherwise.
(2) Transpower may not, on or after 26 July 2001, recover in court any amount— 46 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 s 22 (a) (b) that has been charged in respect of grid connection ser­ vices provided by Transpower before 26 July 2001; and that is the subject of a genuine dispute relating to the transitional pricing methodology (or a previous pric­ ing methodology relating to grid connection services), which dispute has been notiﬁed in writing to Trans­ power before 26 July 2001.
Subsection (1) applies despite the fact that a person may have paid the amount to Transpower on a without prejudice basis.
Validations of actions by persons without electricity operator status (3) 21 (1) Actions taken by persons in the following circumstances are as lawful as if the persons who carried out the actions were electricity operators under section 4 of the principal Act at the time when the actions were carried out: (a) (b) actions carried out, at any time during the period com­ mencing on 1 April 1993 and ending with the date of commencement of the Electricity Operators Order 1995, by persons named in that order; and actions carried out, at any time during the period com­ mencing on 23 June 1998 and ending with 28 December 2000, by the companies currently known as United Net­ works Limited, VECTOR Limited, Orion New Zealand Limited, and Eastland Network Limited.
(2) 22 (1) (2) Subsection (1) applies only to the extent that the actions were carried out in a way that is consistent with being an electricity operator.

Amendment to Public Audit Act 2001 Schedule 1 of the Public Audit Act 2001 is amended by omit­ ting the item “Electricity trusts that are customer trusts or com­ munity trusts, or both (as those terms are deﬁned in sections 3 and 38 of the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998)”.
Schedule 2 of the Public Audit Act 2001 is amended by— (a) (b) omitting the item “Electricity Ashburton Limited”; and omitting the item “Otago Power Limited”.

47 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 1 New Schedule 2A inserted Schedule 2A Further provisions for EGB and EGB’s board s 18 s 172V Appointment, term, resignation, and removal of members Appointment of members The Minister may appoint a member by sending written notice to the member (with a copy to EGB).
In making appointments, the Minister may only appoint a per­ son who, in the Minister’s opinion, has appropriate skills and experience to assist EGB to perform its functions.
The notice of appointment must— (a) (b) state the date on which the appointment takes effect; and be given only after the person to be appointed has con­ sented in writing to being a member, certiﬁed in writing that he or she is not disqualiﬁed from being a member under clause 2, and disclosed to the Minister all inter­ ests that the person would, if he or she were a member, have to disclose at that time under clauses 9 to 12.
Restrictions on persons who may be members The following persons are disqualiﬁed from being a member: (a) (b) a person who is an undischarged bankrupt: a person who is prohibited from being a director or pro­ moter of, or being concerned or taking part in the man­ agement of, a company under section 382, 383, or 385 of the Companies Act 1993: a person who is subject to a property order made under section 10, 11, 12, 30, or 31 of the Protection of Per­ sonal and Property Rights Act 1988, or whose property is managed by a trustee corporation under section 32 of that Act: a person who has been convicted of an offence punish­ able by imprisonment for a term of 2 years or more or who has been sentenced to imprisonment for any other offence, unless that person has obtained a pardon or (c) (d) 1 (1) (2) (3) 2 48 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued served the sentence or otherwise suffered the penalty imposed on the person: a person who has failed to disclose all interests under clause 1: a person who is not a natural person.
(e) (f) Term of appointment 3 (1) A member— (a) holds ofﬁce for 3 years or any shorter period stated in the notice of appointment; and (b) may be reappointed; and (c) continues in ofﬁce despite the expiry of his or her term of ofﬁce until— (i) (ii) (iii) the member is reappointed; or the member’s successor is appointed; or the Minister informs the member by written no­ tice (with a copy to EGB) that the member is not to be reappointed and no successor is to be ap­ pointed.
This clause is subject to clause 7.

Validity of acts The acts of a person as a member are valid even if— (a) (b) the person’s appointment was defective; or the person is not qualiﬁed for appointment.

(2) 4 Resignation 5 (1) A member may resign from ofﬁce by written notice to the Min­ (2) 6 (1) ister (with a copy to EGB) signed by the member.

The resignation is effective on receipt by the Minister of the notice, or at any later time speciﬁed in the notice.
Removal from ofﬁce The Minister may, at any time and entirely at his or her dis­ cretion, remove a member from ofﬁce by written notice to the member (with a copy to EGB).

49 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued (2) A member is not entitled to any compensation or other pay­ ment or beneﬁt relating to his or her removal from ofﬁce.
7 Members ceasing to hold ofﬁce A member ceases to hold ofﬁce if he or she— resigns in accordance with clause 5; or (a) is removed from ofﬁce in accordance with clause 6 or (b) any other enactment; or becomes disqualiﬁed from being a member under clause 2; or otherwise ceases to hold ofﬁce in accordance with any enactment.
(d) (c) Reliance on information and advice 8 When members may rely on certain information and advice (1) A member, when acting as a member, may rely on reports, statements, ﬁnancial data, and other information prepared or supplied, and on professional or expert advice given, by any of the following persons: (a) an employee of EGB whom the member believes on reasonable grounds to be reliable and competent in re­ lation to the matters concerned: a professional adviser or expert in relation to matters that the member believes on reasonable grounds to be within the person’s professional or expert competence: any other member or a committee of the board on which the member did not serve in relation to matters within the member’s or committee’s designated authority.
(b) (c) (2) A member, when acting as a member, may rely on reports, statements, ﬁnancial data, and other information supplied by the Minister.

Subclauses (1) and (2) apply to a member only if the mem­ ber— (a) acts in good faith; and (3) 50 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued (b) makes proper inquiry if the need for inquiry is indicated by the circumstances; and has no knowledge that the reliance is unwarranted.
(c) Disclosure of interests of members in matters of EGB Meaning of interested 9 (1) A member is interested in a transaction of, or other matter relating to, EGB if, and only if, the member— (a) is a party to, or will or may derive a material ﬁnancial beneﬁt from, the transaction or matter; or has a material ﬁnancial interest in another party to the transaction or in a person to whom the matter relates; or is a director, ofﬁcer, member, or trustee of another party to, or a person who will or may derive a material ﬁnan­ cial beneﬁt from, the transaction or matter; or is the parent, child, or spouse of another party to, or a person who will or may derive a material ﬁnancial beneﬁt from, the transaction or matter; or is otherwise directly or indirectly materially interested in the transaction or matter.
(b) (c) (d) (e) (2) However, a member is not interested in a transaction or other matter merely because he or she is a member or a director or an ofﬁcer of a wholly­owned subsidiary of EGB.

10 Obligation to disclose interest A member who is interested in a transaction or proposed trans­ action of, or other matter relating to, EGB must disclose the nature of the interest in accordance with clause 11 as soon as practicable after the member becomes aware that he or she is interested.
11 Method of disclosure of interest (1) If clause 10 applies, the member must disclose the details listed in subclause (2) in an interests register and to— (a) the chairperson or, if there is no chairperson, the deputy chairperson; or 51 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued (b) if the member concerned is the chairperson, or the pos­ itions of the chairperson and deputy chairperson are va­ cant, the Minister.
(2) 12 The details are— (a) the nature of the interest and the monetary value of the interest (if the monetary value can be quantiﬁed); or the nature and extent of the interest (if the monetary value cannot be quantiﬁed).
(b) Consequences of interest A member who is interested in a transaction or proposed trans­ action of, or other matter relating to, EGB— (a) must not vote or take part in any deliberation or deci­ sion of the board or any board committee relating to the matter; and is to be disregarded for the purpose of forming a quorum for that part of a meeting of the board or board commit­ tee during which a deliberation or decision relating to the matter occurs or is made.
(b) Conﬁdentiality of information Conﬁdentiality of information 13 (1) A member who has information in his or her capacity as a member that would not otherwise be available to him or her must not disclose that information to any person, or make use of or act on that information, except— for the purposes of EGB; or (a) as required or permitted by law; or (b) in accordance with subclause (2); or (c) in complying with clauses 10 and 11.
(d) (2) A member may disclose, make use of, or act on the information if— (a) (b) 52 the member is ﬁrst authorised to do so by the board; and the disclosure, use, or act in question will not, or will not be likely to, prejudice EGB.
2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued Liability of members and employees of EGB 14 Liability of members and employees of EGB No member or employee of EGB is personally liable for any liability of EGB, or for any act done or omitted to be done by the board, any member, or any employee of EGB, in good faith in pursuance or intended pursuance of the functions, duties, or powers of EGB.
Members’ remuneration and allowances 15 Members’ remuneration and allowances A member is entitled to receive, from the funds of EGB, remu­ neration and other beneﬁts not within clause 16 for services as a member at a rate and of a kind determined by the Minister.

16 Allowances for members A member is entitled to receive, from the funds of EGB, reasonable and actual allowances for travelling and other expenses relating to the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities as a member.
Chairperson and deputy chairperson 17 (1) (2) (3) Appointment The Minister may appoint a member as the chairperson of the board by written notice to the member (with a copy to the board).

The Minister may appoint another member as deputy chairper­ son of the board by written notice to the member (with a copy to the board).

The notice of appointment must state the date on which the appointment takes effect.
53 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued 18 Term of appointment The chairperson and the deputy chairperson each holds that ofﬁce from the date stated in the notice of appointment until he or she— (a) (b) (c) resigns from that ofﬁce; or is removed from it by the Minister; or ceases to hold ofﬁce as a member.
Resignation 19 (1) A chairperson or deputy chairperson may, without resigning as a member, resign from that ofﬁce by written notice to the Minister (with a copy to the board).

The notice of resignation must state the date on which the res­ ignation takes effect.

(2) 20 (1) (2) 21 Removal The Minister may remove a chairperson or deputy chairperson from that ofﬁce by written notice to the person (with a copy to the board).

The notice of removal must state the date on which the removal takes effect.
Exercise of chairperson’s functions, duties, and powers during vacancy If there is no chairperson or, for any reason, the chairperson is unable to perform his or her functions, duties, and powers as chairperson, the deputy chairperson has all the functions, duties, and powers of the chairperson.

Procedures of board Procedure generally Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the members may regulate their own procedure.
22 54 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued 23 (1) (2) Dates, times, and places of meetings The board must appoint the dates, times, and places of ordinary meetings of the board, and give notice of those meetings to each member not present when the appointment is made.
The chairperson or any 2 members may call a special meeting of the board by giving at least 7 days’ notice of the special meeting, and of the business to be transacted at the meeting, to each member for the time being in New Zealand.

(3) No business other than that speciﬁed in a notice of special meeting may be transacted at a special meeting.
24 Requirements as to notice of meetings Notice of a meeting— (a) must be written, and state the date, time, and place of the meeting; and (b) may be given by post, delivery, or electronic transmis­ sion; and (c) must be sent to the member’s last known address in New Zealand.
25 Methods of holding meetings A meeting of the board may be held— (a) by a number of the members who constitute a quorum, being assembled together at the date, time, and place appointed for the meeting; or by means of audio, audio and visual, or electronic communication by which all members participating and constituting a quorum can simultaneously commu­ nicate with each other throughout the meeting.
(b) Quorum 26 (1) A quorum for a meeting of the members is— (a) (b) half the number of members (if the board has an even number of members) or a majority of the members (if the board has an odd number of members); but in any case, no less than 3 members.

55 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued (2) No business may be transacted at a meeting of the board if a quorum is not present.
Presiding at meetings 27 (1) At a meeting of the board, the following person presides: (a) (b) (c) if there is a chairperson and he or she is present, the chairperson; or if there is no chairperson or he or she is not present, the deputy chairperson; or in any other case, a member chosen by the members present to be the chairperson of the meeting.

The elected person may exercise all the powers, duties, and functions of the chairperson for the purposes of the meeting.
Voting at meetings Each member has 1 vote.

In addition to his or her general vote, the chairperson at a meet­ ing has a casting vote.

(2) 28 (1) (2) (3) A resolution of the board is passed if it is agreed to by all members present without dissent or if a majority of the votes cast on it are in favour of it.
(4) A member present at a meeting of the board is presumed to have agreed to, and to have voted in favour of, a resolution of the board unless he or she expressly dissents from or votes against the resolution at the meeting.

Unanimous written resolutions 29 (1) A resolution signed or assented to in writing (whether sent by post, delivery, or electronic transmission) by all members is as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the board duly called and constituted.
The resolution may consist of several documents containing the same resolution, each signed or assented to in writing by 1 or more members.
(2) 56 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued Delegation 30 31 (1) Ability to delegate The board may delegate any of the functions and powers of EGB or the board, either generally or speciﬁcally, to any of the following persons by resolution and written notice to the person or persons: (a) (b) (c) a member: an employee: a committee established by resolution of the board that includes at least 1 member: any other person or persons approved by the Minister.
(d) Effect of delegation If any functions or powers are delegated under clause 30, the delegate— (a) may, unless the delegation provides otherwise, perform the function or exercise the power in the same manner, subject to the same restrictions, and with the same effect as if the delegate were EGB or the board; and (b) may delegate the function or power only if approved by the Minister.
(2) A delegate who purports to perform a function or exercise a power under a delegation is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to do so in accordance with the terms of that delegation.

(3) A delegation under clause 30— (a) may be revoked at will by resolution of the board and (b) written notice to the delegate; but does not prevent the board from performing the function or exercising the power.
Method of contracting 32 Method of contracting (1) A contract or other enforceable obligation may be entered into by EGB as provided in subclauses (2) to (4).

57 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued (2) An obligation that, if entered into by an individual, is required to be by deed, may be entered into on behalf of EGB in writing, signed under the name of EGB by— (a) (b) 2 or more of its members; or 1 or more attorneys appointed by EGB in accordance with clause 33.
(3) An obligation that, if entered into by an individual, is required to be in writing, may be entered into on behalf of EGB in writing by a person acting under EGB’s express or implied authority.

(4) An obligation that, if entered into by an individual, is not re­ quired to be in writing, may be entered into on behalf of EGB in writing or orally by a person acting under EGB’s express or implied authority.
This clause applies to a contract or other obligation— (a) whether or not that obligation was entered into in New Zealand; and (5) (b) whether or not the law governing that obligation is the law of New Zealand.

33 (1) Attorneys EGB may, by an instrument in writing executed in accordance with clause 32(2), appoint a person as its attorney either gen­ erally or in relation to a speciﬁed matter.

(2) An act of the attorney in accordance with the instrument binds EGB.
34 (1) Presumptions and saving of certain transactions The validity or enforceability of any deed, agreement, right, or obligation entered into, or incurred by, EGB is not affected by a failure of EGB or its board to comply with any provision of this Act.

(2) A person purporting to execute any documentation on behalf of EGB under any authority is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, presumed to be acting in accordance with that au­ thority.
58 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued Employees 35 (1) (2) EGB to be good employer EGB must, if it employs employees,— (a) (b) operate a personnel policy that complies with the prin­ ciple of being a good employer; and report on its compliance with that policy (including its equal employment opportunities programme) in its an­ nual report.
For the purposes of this clause, a good employer is an em­ ployer who operates a personnel policy containing provisions generally accepted as necessary for the fair and proper treat­ ment of employees in all aspects of their employment, includ­ ing provisions requiring— (a) (b) (c) good and safe working conditions; and an equal employment opportunities programme; and the impartial selection of suitably qualiﬁed persons for appointment; and recognition of— (i) (ii) (iii) the aims and aspirations of Maori; and the employment requirements of Maori; and the need for involvement of Maori as employees of EGB; and opportunities for the enhancement of the abilities of in­ dividual employees; and recognition of the aims and aspirations, and the cultural differences, of ethnic or minority groups; and recognition of the employment requirements of women; and recognition of the employment requirements of persons with disabilities.
(d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (3) For the purposes of this section, an equal employment oppor­ tunities programme means a programme that is aimed at the identiﬁcation and elimination of all aspects of policies, pro­ cedures, and other institutional barriers that cause or perpetu­ ate, or tend to cause or perpetuate, inequality in respect of the employment of any persons or group of persons.
59 Schedule 1 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued 36 (1) Employment of chief executives EGB must not agree to the terms and conditions of employ­ ment for a chief executive, or to an amendment of those terms and conditions, without— (a) (b) consulting the State Services Commissioner; and if the proposed terms and conditions or amendment do not comply with any guidance issued by the State Ser­ vices Commissioner to 1 or more Crown entities, con­ sulting the Minister; and having regard to the recommendations that the Com­ missioner and (if applicable) the Minister make to it within a reasonable time of being consulted.
(2) A failure to comply with this clause does not invalidate the (c) acts of a chief executive of EGB.

37 (1) Employment of employees If the Governor­General, by Order in Council, requires it, EGB must not agree to the terms and conditions of employment, or an amendment to those terms and conditions, for an employee without— (a) (b) consulting the State Services Commissioner; and having regard to the recommendations that the Com­ missioner makes to EGB within a reasonable time of being consulted.
(2) The Order in Council may relate to all employees or classes of employees.

(3) A failure to comply with this clause does not invalidate the acts of an employee of EGB.

Application of Acts to members and employees No person is, by reason only of that person’s appointment as a member of, or employment by, EGB, deemed to be employed in the State services for the purposes of the State Sector Act 1988 or in the Government service for the purposes of the Gov­ ernment Superannuation Fund Act 1956.
38 60 2001 No 40 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 Schedule 1 Schedule 2A—continued Financial provisions 39 Funds of EGB The funds of EGB consist of— (a) all money appropriated by Parliament and paid to EGB; and all other money lawfully received by EGB for its pur­ poses; and all accumulations of income derived from that money.
(b) (c) 40 (1) Bank accounts EGB must establish, maintain, and operate 1 or more bank accounts at 1 or more registered banks (within the meaning of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989).

(2) All money received by EGB must be paid into that bank ac­ count or 1 of those bank accounts as soon as practicable after it has been received.

EGB must properly authorise the withdrawal or payment of money from any of its bank accounts.
(3) 41 42 43 Investment of money Any money that belongs to EGB and that is not immediately required may be invested only in accordance with section 25 of the Public Finance Act 1989.

EGB not to borrow without consent of Minister of Finance EGB must not borrow from any person, or amend the terms of any borrowing, without the prior written approval of the Minister of Finance.
Auditor­General to be auditor of EGB EGB is a public entity as deﬁned in section 4 of the Public Audit Act 2001 and, in accordance with that Act, the Auditor­ General is its auditor.

61 Electricity Amendment Act 2001 2001 No 40 Schedule 2A—continued Subsidiaries 44 (1) (2) Subsidiaries EGB must not form or acquire shares in any subsidiary with powers or functions wider than those of EGB.
Section 172S(1)(c), section 172T(a) and (b), and clauses 35 to 38, and 40 to 43 of this schedule apply to any subsidiary of EGB as if every reference to EGB were a reference to a subsidiary and all other necessary modiﬁcations were made except that,— (a) under section 172T(b), the board of a subsidiary must act in a manner consistent with EGB’s current statement of intent and purchase agreement: under clause 36(1)(b) and (c), a subsidiary must consult, and have regard to recommendations of, EGB rather than the Minister.
(b) 25 July 2001 31 July 2001 7 August 2001 Legislative history Divided from Electricity Industry Bill (Bill 86­1), (Bill 86­2A) Third reading Royal assent 62