Summary – Letter to Minister for Consumer Affairs
The disestablishment of the Consumer Advocacy Council (CAC) has left a recognised gap in expert, evidence-based representation for households, small businesses, and prosumers in New Zealand’s electricity system. MBIE’s own briefing confirmed that no other group has the capacity or technical expertise to fill this role, and that its removal leaves consumers disadvantaged in regulatory and market-design decisions.
At the same time, Cabinet approved a substantial increase in the Electricity Authority’s (EA) levy-funded budget—more than seven times the annual cost of the former CAC. Consumers are therefore contributing more to regulatory funding while having no independent body safeguarding their interests. This imbalance undermines confidence at a time when major reforms are underway.
The EA is currently progressing the most significant electricity market changes in three decades, including time-of-use pricing, flexibility markets, DER participation, buy-back rates, distribution pricing reform, hedging transparency, market-power investigations, and security-of-supply settings. These initiatives materially affect consumer costs, rights, incentives, and risk allocation. Expert consumer input is essential but currently absent.
To restore balance without reopening past Cabinet decisions, this submission proposes the creation of an Independent Consumer Technical Taskforce (ICTT)—a small, specialist body hosted by MBIE, with a mandate to:
- provide technical submissions on all EA reforms affecting consumers and prosumers;
- publish independent analysis where gaps exist;
- review EA taskforce outputs for fairness and competitive impact;
- investigate structural issues placed in the “too hard” basket, such as the implications of 51% Crown ownership of gentailers and the effect on wholesale pricing and dividends funded through consumer bills.
The ICTT would be funded from a fraction of the EA’s recent levy uplift, requiring only 1/7 of the increase. This ensures no additional consumer burden and offers Ministers a constructive, face-saving way to strengthen consumer protection while maintaining policy continuity.
Establishing this taskforce would demonstrate a commitment to fairness, transparency, and balanced decision-making. Refusal to take action—despite a clear gap, modest cost, and rising regulatory demands—would be difficult to reconcile with the Government’s consumer-protection objectives and the need to build trust during the renewable-energy transition.
The request is simple: direct MBIE to design and resource the Independent Consumer Technical Taskforce, and require the EA to integrate its independent consumer analysis into all relevant work programmes. This will ensure that New Zealand’s electricity reforms proceed with the confidence and participation of the consumers who ultimately pay for the system.