Commission seeks comment on Orion Customised PriceQuality
Media
Release
Issued 19
April 2013
Release
No. 79
Commission
seeks public comment on Orion Customised PriceQuality
Path Proposal
The Commerce
Commission has commenced the process for setting new maximum
prices and new quality standards for Orion New Zealand
Limited (“Orion”). Orion has submitted a Customised
PriceQuality Path (CPP) proposal to change the maximum
prices that Canterbury consumers will pay for electricity
lines services and to set new required quality standards for
those services. The Commission invites interested parties to
comment on the Orion proposal by 17 May 2013.
The Commission has today released a Process Paper to explain how interested people can have their say on Orion’s proposal. The Commission’s Process Paper and Orion’s CPP proposal are available on the Commission’s website at: http://www.comcom.govt.nz/orioncpp/ The Commission also proposes to release an issues paper around 29 April 2013 setting out its preliminary list of issues and questions on the Orion proposal. Submitters will be able to consider those issues and questions when commenting on the Orion proposal. The submissions from interested parties will assist in informing the Commission’s draft decision on Orion’s pricequality path. The draft decision is expected to be released in July 2013 for further public comment. A final decision by the Commission is currently scheduled for November 2013.
Background
Orion’s
current maximum prices and its quality targets are set in a
pricequality path determined in 2009. To alter those
prices and targets Orion has made a CPP proposal which may
lead to changes in its prices and quality standards from 1
April 2014, for the following five years.
The Commission
has examined Orion’s CPP proposal to decide whether the
proposal complies with the Commission’s rules for the
process and content for a CPP application. These are set out
in the Electricity Distribution Services Input
Methodologies Determination 2012 at http://www.comcom.govt.nz/electricitydistribution/
.
The Commission asked for more information from Orion to
ensure the CPP proposal fully met the requirements of that
determination. The additional information provided by Orion
is set out in the Addendum of additional information
provided by Orion. The Addendum is also available on the
Commission’s website.
The Commission has decided that Orion’s CPP proposal, in combination with an Addendum of additional information, complies with the relevant rules.
ENDS