Go-Live Date

Date Published: Thu, 18/12/2008 - 08:40 Author: Andrew Walker

On 14 January 2010 Gas Industry Co published a notice in the New Zealand Gazette stating that it had approved critical contingency management plans covering the whole transmission system and announcing the go-live date, 21 January 2010, on which parts 3 and 4 of the regulations come into force. The text of this notice is available by clicking on the link below.

Extract from the New Zealand Gazette

The presentation below was developed by Gas Industry Co and the critical contingency operator to highlight the key responsibilities of industry participants and consumers under the new contingency management arrangements and to summarise the communication protocols between the parties affected by contingency events.

Overview

 

Regulations

The Gas Governance (Critical Contingency Management) Regulations 2008 (the Regulations) were published in the New Zealand Gazette on 6 November 2008. Parts 1, 2 and 5 came into force on 4 December 2008 and parts 3 and 4 came into force on 21 January 2010 (the go-live date).

The purpose of the Regulations is to achieve the effective management of critical gas outages and other security of supply contingencies without compromising long-term security of supply. The Regulations provide for:

  • The appointment of:
    • a critical contingency operator (CCO);
    • an expert adviser; and
    • an industry expert;
  • Funding of fees to cover the critical contingency development and ongoing costs;
  • The establishment of a critical contingency website;
  • Processes for:
    • the preparation, review, approval, publication and testing of critical contingency management plans (CCMPs) for each transmission system;
    • the preparation and publication of a communications plan and information guide; and
    • the declaration and termination of a critical contingency by the CCO, and the curtailment and restoration of gas consumption during a critical contingency;
  • The obligations of certain parties before, during and after a critical contingency; and
  • A methodology for the calculation of contingency imbalances and the determination of a critical contingency price.

Part 1 covers general provisions for the appointment of the CCO and terms of the CCO service provider agreement, the scope of the Regulations, funding of the development and ongoing fees, and the giving and receiving of notices.

Part 2 covers the obligations of certain parties prior to the critical contingency management go-live date (Go-Live Date), in relation to CCMPs, the communications plan and information guide, and the provision of transmission system and consumer information.

Part 3 sets out the processes for the determination, declaration and termination of a critical contingency and the role and obligations of certain parties during a contingency event.

Part 4 provides for obligations after critical contingency events, including reporting requirements, and processes for the appointment of an industry expert, determination of a critical contingency price and the determination and resolution of contingency imbalances.

Part 5 provides for miscellaneous activities such as audits, the treatment of critical contingencies occurring before the Go-Live Date and the separation of roles for the CCO.

 

Expert Adviser

For each proposed CCMP or amendment to a CCMP, an expert adviser must be appointed by Gas Industry Co to review the proposed plan or amendment and to make a recommendation on whether Gas Industry Co should approve the proposed plan or amendment. Gas Industry Co must appoint an expert adviser within 30 business days of the commencement date in the case of a proposed plan and, for a proposed amendment, within 5 business days of receiving the amendment from the TSO.

On 27 January 2009, Gas Industry Co appointed Concept Consulting Group Limited as the Expert Adviser to review the initial critical contingency management plans proposed by Vector Gas Limited and Maui Development Limited respectively.

The terms and conditions of the appointment are available by clicking on the link below:

Expert Adviser appointment - 27 January 2009

 

Industry Expert

Gas Industry Co must appoint an independent industry expert to determine the critical contingency price within 10 business days of the termination of a critical contingency. Each TSO, interconnected party, and shipper who will be affected by the determination of a critical contingency price may nominate 1 person to be considered by Gas Industry Co when appointing the industry expert.

 

Determinations

The Contingency Management Regulations provide for the industry body (Gas Industry Co) to determine and publish certain matters regarding the operation of the regulations. Notice of these determinations is available by clicking on the link below:

Critical Contingency Management Determinations v1.0

 

Contingency Modelling - Interdependency of Gas and Electricity

Date Published: May/June 2008

Authors: Vector/Contact

In the lead-up to the Contingency Management REgulations being made, a group was convened by Contact Energy, and its role was to work towards a better understanding of the interdependencies between the electricity and gas sectors. Membership of the group was broad, covering gas transmission, electricity generation, electricity system operation (Transpower), the Electricity Commission and Gas Industry Co. Both Vector and Contact Energy undertook modelling work which was presented to that group and the outputs from that work are provided below.

Vector gas modelling
Covering Letter
Contingency Modelling

Contact electricity modelling
Covering Letter
Contingency Modelling

 

Phase: 
Market Administration