The Energy Competition Task Force says non-discrimination measures are its preferred way to level the playing field between the large gentailers – Genesis, Contact, Meridian and Mercury – and independent participants in the electricity market.
The Electricity Authority Te Mana Hiko (EA) and the Commerce Commission set up the task force to look for ways to strengthen the market and put downward pressure on prices due to last winter’s energy crunch.
The proposed non-discrimination measures would prevent gentailers from giving preferential treatment to their retail arms in relation to hedge contracts, the EA said in a joint statement with the commission.
Instead, gentailers would have to make these products available to all industry participants on effectively the same terms as they use when trading internally and provide greater transparency about the prices and volumes provided to the retail sides of their businesses.
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