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Electricity Industry Act 2010

Electricity industry governance - Electricity Industry Participation Code - Content and status of Code

32: Content of Code

You could also call this:

“The Code sets rules for the electricity industry to work better”

The Code can include rules that help make the electricity industry work better. These rules can be about making the industry more competitive, making sure there’s enough electricity for everyone, and protecting people who use electricity at home or in small businesses.

The Code can’t tell regular people what to do. It can only give instructions to people who work in the electricity industry or to the Electricity Authority. The Code also can’t make rules about things that other government groups are in charge of.

Sometimes, the Code can tell specific people what to do to make sure different parts of the electricity industry don’t work too closely together when they shouldn’t.

The Code can set rules about how good the electricity service should be and how much information should be shared. It can also decide how prices should be set for sending electricity through the big power lines or local networks.

When the Code talks about “pricing methodologies”, it means the ways of setting prices that are explained in another law called the Commerce Act.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2634364.

Topics:
Business > Industry rules Environment and resources > Climate and energy
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31: Offences relating to registration, or

"You can get in trouble if you don't sign up or keep your information up to date as an electricity industry member"

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33: Status of Code, or

"The Electricity Industry Code is an official set of rules that must be published properly"

Part 2 Electricity industry governance
Electricity Industry Participation Code: Content and status of Code

32Content of Code

  1. The Code may contain any provisions that are consistent with the objectives of the Authority and are necessary or desirable to promote any or all of the following:

  2. competition in the electricity industry:
    1. the reliable supply of electricity to consumers:
      1. the efficient operation of the electricity industry:
        1. the protection of the interests of domestic consumers and small business consumers in relation to the supply of electricity to those consumers:
          1. the performance by the Authority of its functions:
            1. any other matter specifically referred to in this Act as a matter for inclusion in the Code.

              1. The Code may not—

              2. impose obligations on any person other than an industry participant or a person acting on behalf of an industry participant, or the Authority (other than in accordance with subsection (3)); or
                1. purport to do or regulate anything that the Commerce Commission is authorised or required to do or regulate under Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986 (other than in accordance with subsection (4)); or
                  1. purport to regulate any matter dealt with in or under the Electricity Act 1992.

                    1. The Code may impose obligations on a specified person for the purpose of restricting relationships between 2 classes of industry participants, where those relationships may not otherwise be at arm’s length.

                    2. The Code may contain provisions that do any of the following, regardless of whether such a provision would otherwise be prohibited under subsection (2)(b):

                    3. set quality or information requirements for Transpower or 1 or more distributors, in relation to access to transmission or distribution networks:
                      1. set pricing methodologies for Transpower or 1 or more distributors.

                        1. Subsections (3) and (4) do not limit subsection (1).

                        2. In this section, pricing methodologies has the meaning given in section 52C of the Commerce Act 1986.

                        Notes
                        • Section 32: replaced, on , by section 14 of the Electricity Industry Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 46).
                        • Section 32(6): replaced, on , by section 56 of the Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Act 2025 (2025 No 11).