Electricity to be included in Commerce Act review

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel and Energy Minister David Parker today announced that electricity supply provisions would be included in a review of parts of the Commerce Act.

A review of Parts 4 and 5 of the Commerce Act was announced earlier this year. The government has now decided to include Part 4A in the review.

"Given that a review of Parts 4 and 5 may have implications anyway for Part 4A, it makes sense to do it all at the same time," David Parker said.

Parts 4 and 5 relate to the control of goods and services, and authorisations and clearances respectively. Part 4A allows for individual electricity lines businesses to be placed under regulatory control if they breach thresholds set by the Commerce Commission.

"It's important that provisions in the Commerce Act are consistent, to enable regulatory certainty for business and investors," Lianne Dalziel said.

Lianne Dalziel said all interested parties would have full opportunity to comment when the discussion documents are released early next year. It is expected that final policy decisions will be made in late 2007.

Any legislative amendments that result from this review will not come into effect until 2008 at the earliest, and therefore will not affect the outcome of current regulatory processes in relation to electricity lines businesses. The terms of reference can be viewed online at www.med.govt.nz .

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