Ministerial Working Party on Electricity

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee says he's considering a Ministerial Working Party to reshape the regulatory functions of the electricity industry.

In a speech to the National Energy Conference in Auckland today Mr Brownlee identified disentangling regulatory functions as a way to speed-up investment on electricity transmission assets.

"One reason why I favour a Ministerial Working Party is the report I've received from Business New Zealand, written by credible people, on the tangled governance and regulatory roles in the industry."

"I think it contains good arguments for a redesign of the industry's regulatory arrangements," he said.

"And a Ministerial Working Party may be the best way forward," said Mr Brownlee.

"I intend to engage officials and other interested parties in sorting out the duplication and complexity in the regulations and their implementation."

"The recent power failures in Auckland were a timely reminder that for security of supply and the economic good of the country we have to make progress on electricity infrastructure investment," he said.

A Ministerial Working Party would also be asked to consider electricity affordability. It is anticipated Ministers will have issues to address once the Commerce Commission investigation into market powers has been released.