Meta Data
Draft: 
No
Revision of previous policy?: 
No
Effective Start Year: 
2015
Scope: 
National
Document Type: 
Plan/Strategy
Economic Sector: 
Energy, Transport, Multi-Sector
Energy Types: 
Power, Renewable, Other
Issued by: 
New Zealand Government, Ministry of Infrastructure
Overall Summary: 
The third Infrastructure Plan reaffirms the Government’s long-term vision, first set out in 2011, that New Zealand’s infrastructure is resilient and coordinated and contributes to a strong economy and high living standards. The Plan supports this vision in three ways: - providing a better understanding of the services that will be needed in the future; improved information about, and management of, existing assets; and ensuring the right settings are in place to make better investment decisions in the future. The sections the document covers include the current status, the strategic context, the response, and an action plan. Energy-related provisions support increased energy efficiency, along with pricing and demand-response considerations, and secure energy supply.
Access
Energy access action plan: 
Implement the new extended reserve arrangements to help improve the management of the risk of blackouts by December 2015.---Review low and high voltage fault ride-through Asset Owner Performance Obligations (AOPO’s) to ensure they are fit for purpose with the changing generation mix, and implement any necessary changes.
Efficiency
EE action plans: 
Further review the operation of the spot electricity market to:[...]>> improve opportunities for consumers to vary their demand in response to wholesale electricity prices.---Review whether there are long-term net benefits for consumers from introducing cap contracts in the electricity futures market to achieve robust and transparent pricing of generation and demand-response capacity and improve the resilience of generation and demand-response capacity.---Demand management will grow in importance leading to greater energy efficiency and the avoidance of unnecessary expenditure on grid upgrades. This will be achieved through: −− The Development of Transpower’s demand response programme, which pays participating consumers to reduce demand during critical peak periods when doing so defers transmission investment (Transpower). −− The gas industry’s development of a demand-response solution to congestion management on parts of the gas transmission system (Gas Industry Company). −− The development of a framework for electricity demand-side management (Electricity Authority). −− The development of minimum energy performance standards for electricity appliances (Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority).
EE standards for appliances: 
Development of minimum energy performance standards for electricity appliances to support demand management.
Renewable Energy
Cooperation in RE: 
Promotion of regional renewable energy hubs.
Environment
Decarbonization strategy: 
Low Carbon Auckland sets out a 30-year pathway and a 10-year plan of action to transform towards a greener, more prosperous, liveable, low carbon city, powered by efficient, affordable, clean energy and using resources sustainably. The plan addresses travel, the built environment, green infrastructure, waste, forestry and agriculture (2015-2020)
Land use change for energy production purposes: 
The Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 were designed to protect the security of the supply of electricity, and the safety of the public by prescribing rules and responsibilities for managing trees in the proximity of electricity conductors. MBIE will investigate the effectiveness of the regulations governing management of trees near power lines.
Pricing
Energy pricing: 
Investigate the impact that current pricing methodologies and other regulatory requirements have on incentives for efficient investment in new generation, storage and demand management technologies (2015-16)---Review stress testing arrangements designed to demonstrate spot price risk to consumers arising from electricity system stresses.---Further review the operation of the spot electricity market to:[...]>> improve opportunities for consumers to vary their demand in response to wholesale electricity prices.---Review whether there are long-term net benefits for consumers from introducing cap contracts in the electricity futures market to achieve robust and transparent pricing of generation and demand-response capacity and improve the resilience of generation and demand-response capacity.---Review whether there are long-term net benefits for consumers from introducing cap contracts in the electricity futures market to achieve robust and transparent pricing of generation and demand-response capacity and improve the resilience of generation and demand-response capacity.---EA to review principles governing pricing of electricity transmission and distribution services, including the connection of distributed generation. Investigate the market impact of regulations requiring low fixed electricity tariff options for households.
Energy Supply and Infrastructure
Energy supply priorities: 
Promotion of petroleum and minerals exploration and development. (2015-19)---Implement the new extended reserve arrangements to help improve the management of the risk of blackouts by December 2015.---Review low and high voltage fault ride-through Asset Owner Performance Obligations (AOPO’s) to ensure they are fit for purpose with the changing generation mix, and implement any necessary changes.---Continue to implement actions that Cabinet agreed to following the Oil Security Review 2012, including developing an Oil Emergency Response Handbook, and improving transparency of regional storage capacity by December 2015.---Identify opportunities to reduce dependency on imported liquid fuels.---Review the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Fuel Plan, which provides a readiness planning framework and response operations for fuel sectors and CDEM in New Zealand – Review complete by December 2016
Infrastructure development priorities: 
Gas industry development of a demand-response solution to congestion management on parts of the gas transmission system.---Protection of New Zealand’s energy infrastructure in order to avoid vulnerabilities and disruptions to service, including cyber risks where advice has been developed in conjunction with the electricity sector for the protection of industry control systems (MBIE).
Regional integration priorities: 
Promotion of regional renewable energy hubs (2015-16).
Investment
Energy sector investment priorities: 
Support continuous improvements in asset management planning practices by gas and electricity lines businesses through review of asset management plans and analysis of related information.---Develop Transpower’s demand response programme for transmission investment deferral, which is used to defer investment in grid upgrades by paying participating consumers to reduce demand during critical peak periods when doing so defers transmission investment.
Governance
Energy management principles: 
Smart Grid Forum (led by MBIE and ENA) considering challenges and opportunities for NZ’s electricity system, which faces changing demand patterns and new technologies (2015-16).---Further review the operation of the spot electricity market to: >> ensure slow-start forms of generation are treated equally with fast-start generation (slow-start thermal generation can be a key source of energy supply during dry year events); and >> improve opportunities for consumers to vary their demand in response to wholesale electricity prices.---Gas industry development of a demand-response solution to congestion management on parts of the gas transmission system.---The EA will promote competition in electricity markets by providing consumers with better access to information and tools to make decisions between retailers.
National policy structure: 
Review the National Civil Defence Emergency Management Fuel Plan, which provides a readiness planning framework and response operations for fuel sectors and CDEM in New Zealand – Review complete by December 2016
M&E of policy implementation: 
The National Policy Statement for Renewable Electricity Generation 2011 includes recommendations to monitor, evaluate and report on its effectiveness by May 2016.
Public database availability: 
Commerce Commission will conduct an analysis of Electricity Distribution Businesses’ (EDB’s) information disclosure (2015-16).
Technology
Clean energy technology priorities: 
New Zealand will operate a smart electricity network that will use data to empower consumers to make better decisions and allow decisionmakers to improve asset management, resilience, and demand management. This will be achieved through the progress of the Smart Grid Forum (MBIE with the support of the Electricity Networks Association).---Continued advances in energy efficiency and battery technologies;---Protection of New Zealand’s energy infrastructure in order to avoid vulnerabilities and disruptions to service, including cyber risks, will be increasingly important.
Clean energy technology deployment: 
Investigate the impact that current pricing methodologies and other regulatory requirements have on incentives for efficient investment in new generation, storage and demand management technologies (2015-16)