Switching and Registry
Overview
Introduction
A recommendation was made to the Minister of Energy in mid-2007 for the establishment of a central gas registry and associated rules to support the ready switching of gas customers between retailers. Relevant amendments to support this were made to the Gas Act in 2008 and the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 were approved and came into effect for the gas registry elements in March 2008. The overall objective of this project is to implement switching so as to achieve the regulatory objective set out in the Recommendation to the Minister: specifically, to bring the Switching Rules into effect (go-live) by 1 March 2009 by deploying a registry system that enables the appointed Registry Operator to supply the required services to the industry reliably and cost-effectively. This aim has now been achieved with the Rules now fully in effect. Another aim is to aid the industry in carrying out its part in making the switching regime work, including effective participation in the user acceptance testing, population of the registry with complete and accurate information and facilitating industry compliance with the new switching arrangements.
Summary of Status
The gas registry has been operational since 1 March 2009.
The go-live date of 1 March 2009 has been met with Gas Industry Co confirming that the registry is fully operational in accordance with the Switching Rules. Formal migration of data into the registry has occurred, and all major registry functions have been established and tested. Accordingly, registry and the switching regime set out in the Switching Rules are now fully in effect.
A key step in the implementation process has been the appointment of Jade Software as the registry operator. A competitive process was conducted for this appointment based on the issue of an RFP, the evaluation of proposals received to select a preferred respondent, and then the negotiation of agreements with that respondent. The two agreements resulting from this process - an Operating Agreement and a Development and Establishment Agreement - were executed on 1 September 2008. As a part of the negotiation process a detailed business requirements specification was agreed with Jade which enabled development work to start in parallel with the completion of negotiations.
Contact Details
Ian Dempster
Tel: 04 494 2467
Ian.Dempster @
gasindustry.co.nz
Issues, Options and Discussion Papers
Previously Consulted On
Minor Amendments to the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Gas Industry Co has released a consultation document proposing minor amendments to the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008.
Submissions received
Switching: Operations and Compliance
The purpose of this discussion paper is to put forward, for industry comment, minor operational amendments and clarifications to the registry and switching arrangements and the associated compliance process.
Submissions received
Consultation on Exemption Application under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Submissions were invited on exemptions which would allow five business days for retailers to respond to GNW and GAC notices. This would be a continuation of the status quo under exemptions granted in 2008 which expired at the end of February.
Application of Gas Governance Arangements to Private Networks
The existing rules for reconciliation and switching make no distinction between open-access and private networks.
Gas Industry Co commissioned a paper by Dr Geoff Bertram to discuss how gas governance arrangements should be applied to private networks. Submissions were sought on the paper in April 2009, prior to which a workshop was held on 31 March (click here to view the slide presentation). The paper and industry participants submissions in response are set out below.
Gas Industry Co has now also prepared an analysis of submissions that discusses the conclusions of Dr Bertram's report and considers the responses of submitters. The analysis of submissions can be viewed at the link set out below.
Submissions received
Consultation on Exemption Application under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
A transitional exemption application under the Switching Rules has been received from Nova Gas Ltd. An exemption until 30 September 2009 was sought from the application of rule 41 to consumer installations on bypass networks. Rule 41 requires that distributors enter ICP information into the registry prior to go-live. The alternative arrangement proposed is that all consumer installations on each bypass network are represented by a single notional ICP. During the term of the exemption Nova Gas propose that the substantive issues relating to the inclusion of bypass networks under both the Switching Rules and the Downstream Reconciliation Rules should be examined.
Submissions received
Consultation: Revised Determinations under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Author: Malay Shah
Submissions and feedback were invited on draft version 1.2 of the Switching Determinations. The draft can be downloaded below, and the proposed changes from the existing Switching Determinations v1.1 are viewable using the MS Word track changes feature.
Please note:
- Explanations of GAN acceptance and GNW request reason codes have been incorporated for consistency
- Several of the proposed changes are subject to compliance determinations or exemption decisions and are commented accordingly (in particular, note the updates to Attachment 2 (PR-040 report) to reflect the retailer 2 to 5 day GNW/GNC response timeframe exemption if granted)
Submissions received
Transitional Exemptions under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Author: Malay Shah
Submissions were invited on the two transitional exemptions addressed in this paper under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008. A consultation paper on these applications can been viewed or downloaded here:
Submissions received
Determinations by the Industry Body (Gas Industry Co) under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Author: Bas Walker and Malay Shah
The Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 delegate the determination of specific technical details to support the implementation of the switching rules and the gas registry to Gas Industry Co as the industry body. Although consultation is formally required in only some cases, Gas Industry Co decided to consult on the proposed Determinations in their entirety. The consultation paper can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here:
Submissions received
Discussion Paper - Revised Proposal for Allocation of Switching and Registry Costs
Author: Nicole MacFarlane and Lee Wilson
The Government Policy Statement on Gas Governance ("GPS") invites Gas Industry Co to recommend arrangements, including regulations and rules where appropriate, for the standardisation and upgrading of protocols allowing customers to switch between retailers, so that barriers to competition are minimised. Following extensive development and consultation, Gas Industry Co issued a Decision Paper (PDF 863KB) in January 2007 setting out the decisions that the Board had taken in respect of progressing the development of a set of switching rules, including a central gas registry and associated compliance arrangements. Although the Board has confirmed its overall approach and intends to recommend the arrangements to the Minister of Energy, in response to submissions received on the decision paper, it has reconsidered issues associated with the allocation of switching and registry costs.
The purpose of this discussion paper was to:
- set out Gas Industry Co's review of the switching and registry cost allocation issues;
- describe Gas Industry Co's revised proposal for allocating these costs; and
- seek further stakeholder input on the revised proposal prior to finalising the recommendations to the Minister of Energy.
Gas Industry Co considered the submissions and made recommendations to the Minister of Energy in 31 May 2007.
Submissions received
Decision Paper on Switching and Compliance
Author: Gael Webster, Rod Treder and Lee Wilson
The Government Policy Statement on Gas Governance invites Gas Industry Co to recommend arrangements for the standardisation and upgrading of protocols relating to customer switching, so that barriers to customer switching are minimised. The main purpose of this decision paper was to explain the decisions that the Gas Industry Co Board has taken in respect of progressing the development of a set of switching rules, a central gas registry, and associated compliance regulations. The decision paper describes the process Gas Industry Co has followed in addressing customer switching issues and related compliance and enforcement arrangements which culminated in two statements of proposal for switching arrangements for the New Zealand Gas Industry. Submissions made on those Proposals, and Gas Industry Co's response to those submissions, are covered in the decision paper. Further stakeholder input was sought on three particular issues, including whether the final drafts of the switching rules and compliance regulations accurately implement the arrangements. Gas Industry Co considered the submissions and made recommendations to the Minister of Energy on 31st May 2007. The decision paper can be viewed or downloaded from here:
Submissions received
Discussion Paper - Mechanisms to Implement a Central Registry
Author: Rebecca Cottrell
The purpose of this Discussion Paper was to seek feedback and input from the industry on Gas Industry Co's analysis of the alternatives available to implement a Central Registry.
Submissions received
Cost Benefit Analysis Consultation - Switching and Registry
Author: Paul Mitchell
The purpose of this consultation paper was to present the findings of an independent cost benefit analysis that had been commissioned by Gas Industry Co regarding options for switching arrangements for the New Zealand gas industry. Gas Industry Co invited submissions from stakeholders as to whether they agree with the assessment of this paper or whether there are additional factors that need to be taken into account prior to a formal recommendation on this subject being made. The cost benefit analysis consultation paper can be viewed or downloaded from here:
Submissions received
Options for Switching Arrangements for the New Zealand Gas Industry
Author: Simon Brett
The purpose of this consultation paper was to seek input from stakeholders on Gas Industry Co's analysis of the issues facing switching arrangements in the New Zealand gas industry, the options considered to be available to address these issues and Gas Industry Co's preferred option.
Submissions received
Switching and Registry
Previously Consulted On
Statement of Proposal - Switching Arrangements for the New Zealand Gas Industry - Part 1
Date Published: 31 August 2006 Author: Paul Mitchell
This statement of proposal has been prepared in response to the Government's desire to minimise barriers to customer switching. Gas Industry Co has undertaken a review of switching arrangements for retail gas customers in New Zealand and has built upon a broad industry acknowledgement of the inefficiency and sub-optimal performance of the current switching arrangements. Click on the following link for:
Submissions received
Statement of Proposal - Switching Arrangements for the New Zealand Gas Industry - Part 2 Compliance and Enforcement Arrangements
Date Published: 31 August 2006 Author: Paul Mitchell
This statement of proposal is for compliance and enforcement arrangements to support the proposed switching arrangements for retail gas customers in New Zealand. These switching arrangements are set out in a Statement of Proposal by the Gas Industry Co referred to as Part 1. Click in the following link for:
Submissions received
Recommendation
Date Published: 31 May 2007 Author: Nicole MacFarlane and Gael Webster
On 31 May 2007, Gas Industry Co made two recommendations in respect of arrangements for consumers switching between retailers and an associated compliance regime. The texts of both of these recommendations, including details of the assessments completed under section 43N of the Act, can be viewed or downloaded from this page.
Recommendation to the Minister of Energy on Switching Arrangements for the NZ Gas Industry
Recommendation to the Minister of Energy on Regulations for Enforcement of Switching Arrangements
Recommendation to Associate Minister of Energy and Resources on amendments to the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008
Date Published: 29 October 2010 Author: Jacki Eves, Jenny Howell, Andrew Walker, and Ian Dempster.
Under section 43O of the Gas Act 1992 Gas Industry Co must, no later than 10 working days after making a recommendation to the Minister of Energy on gas governance arrangements, publicise that recommendation and the assessment completed under section 43N of the Act.
On 27 October 2010, Gas Industry Co made a recommendation in respect of minor amendments to the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008. The text of the recommendation is available through the website link below, which includes a marked-up amendment to the Rules at Appendix C. A link to the analysis of submissions is also provided.
Recommendation to Associate Minister of Energy and Resources.
Market Administration
Gas (Switching Arrangement) Rules 2008
The Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 ('Switching Rules') were gazetted by the Minister of Energy on 14 February 2008.
A copy of the rules is available by clicking on the relevant link below:
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (PDF 597 KB) in effect up to 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (PDF 460 KB) in effect from 10 February 2011
The purpose of the Switching Rules is to establish a set of gas switching and registry arrangements that will enable consumers to choose, and alternate, efficiently and satisfactorily between competing retailers. The rules provide for:
- The establishment of a central registry of gas customers;
- The management of information held by the registry;
- The appointment of a registry operator; and
- A process for switching customers between retailers.
Parts 1, 2 and 4 of the Switching Rules (rules 1 to 50 and 88 to 91) came into effect on 13 March 2008. Those rules provide for the appointment of the registry operator and establishment of the registry. Part 3 (rules 51 to 87) deals with the processes for initiating and processing switches between retailers. Part 3 came into effect on the "go-live date" of 1 March 2009, being the date on which Gas Industry Co confirmed that the registry became fully operational under the Switching Rules.
Minor amendments to the Switching Rules
On 27 October 2010, Gas Industry Co made
a recommendation to the Minister of Energy and Resources in respect of minor
amendments to the Switching Rules. The amendments were gazetted on 13 January
2011 and came into force 28 days later. The amendments to the Rules fall into four categories:
- Altering the scope of some of the Rules to align with industry best practice;
- clarifying the scope of some of the Rules;
- promoting ease of understanding and interpretation; and
- resolving minor drafting and wording issues.
The original and amended versions of the Switching Rules can be viewed below in marked-up and in clean format:
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (clean version) - in effect up to 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (track-changes version) - in effect from 10 February 2011
Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 (clean version) - in effect from 10 February 2011
Registry and Registry Operator
The Gas Registry website can be found at https://www.gasregistry.co.nz
The Rules require Gas Industry Co to appoint a registry operator. The gas registry is owned and operated by Jade Software Corporation (NZ) Limited and the service provider agreement can be viewed here.
Determinations
The Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 require Gas Industry Co to
determine and publish certain information required for the full implementation
of the rules and of the gas registry in particular. These determinations are
maintained in consultation with registry participants and the current version
is available by clicking on the link below:
Forms
Gas Registry Access Application Form
This form should be used by industry participants to:
- update Participant Register information;
- create/expire Participant and ICP Distributor Codes;
- create/expire/reset FTP accounts; and
- create/expire Online Supervisor accounts.
The form can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on the link below:
Gas Registry Access Application Form
Gas Gate Change Notice Form
This form should be used by distributors to provide notice of changes to gas gate information, including:
- creation of a new gas gate;
- changes to existing gas gate information; and
- decommissioning of an existing gas gate.
As required by rule 46 of the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 distributors must provide notice to the industry body, registry operator, allocation agent and all affected retailers at least 20 business days before the effective date.
The form can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on the link below:
Exemption Application Form
The form for an exemption application can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on the link below. Gas Industry Co recommends that you follow the format to ensure that all the necessary information is provided and to avoid delays caused by an incomplete application.
Your application should be in writing and addressed to the General Counsel,
Gas Industry Co by email to: exemptions
gasindustry [dot] co
[dot] nz. A hard copy of your application should also be
forwarded.
Registry Ongoing Costs
Rules 24 through 26 of the Switching Rules provide for ongoing fees to be paid by retailers to Gas Industry Co on a monthly basis to meet the registry ongoing costs. The registry ongoing costs include the costs:
- payable by Gas Industry Co to the registry operator in respect of that year; and
- of Gas Industry Co associated with the registry and its role under the Switching Rules during that year.
Gas Industry Co has determined that the registry ongoing costs should exclude any overhead costs or policy work resulting from operational activities under the Switching Rules. Any such work is to be funded from the Gas Industry Co Levy. The registry ongoing costs therefore only relate to other direct external costs in connection with Gas Industry Co administering the Switching Rules.
For each year following the first year or part year of operation, Gas Industry Co must estimate and publish on its website, at least two months prior to the beginning of the year, a breakdown of the estimated registry ongoing costs for that year. As soon as practicable after the end of the year, Gas Industry Co must determine and publish on its website a breakdown of the actual registry ongoing costs for that year. The breakdown of actual and estimated costs are provided below for the relevant years.
Estimated ongoing costs for FY2012 (1 July 2011 - 30 June 2012)
| Cost categories | Estimated annual cost |
| Service provider - base fee | $255,025 |
| Service provider - DR/escrow arrangements | $12,000 |
| External advice/development | $25,000 |
| Total registry ongoing costs | $292,025 |
Note: until mid-2011, ongoing registry costs were estimated and recovered based on calendar years. From July 2011 the timing changed to align with the Gas Industry Co financial year.
Revised estimated ongoing costs for six months to 30 June 2011
| Cost categories | Estimated annual cost |
| Service provider - base fee | $125,674 |
| Service provider - disaster recovery arrangements | $4,000 |
| External advice | $20,000 |
| Total registry ongoing costs | $149,674 |
Change of "payment year"
On 8 April 2011 Gas Industry Co notified gas registry participants that the payment year was to be changed from a calendar year to align with the Gas Industry Co financial year. The notice can be found here. This change required that the estimated ongoing costs for the six month period to 30 June 2011 be published and notified.
Estimated ongoing costs for calendar 2011
| Cost categories | Estimated annual cost |
| Service provider - base fee | $254,411 |
| Service provider - escrow arrangements | $4,000 |
| External advice | $20,000 |
| Total registry ongoing costs |
$278,411 |
Ongoing costs for calendar 2010
| Cost categories |
Estimated cost |
Actual cost |
| Service provider - base fee | $243,600 | $244,015 |
| Service provider - system changes | $30,000 | $4,200 |
| Service provider - escrow arrangements | $4,000 | $4,383 |
| External advisers | $30,000 | $15,535 |
| Total registry ongoing costs | $307,600 | $268,133 |
| Total to be refunded to participants | $39,467 | |
Monthly Statistics Reports
The current determinations by Gas Industry Co under the Gas (Switching Arrangements) Rules 2008 cover, amongst other things, report access restrictions and requirements. Under this determination Gas Industry Co intends to publish summary registry reports on its website including the following information on a monthly basis:
- Total numbers of ICPs by ICP status;
- Total numbers of active ICPs by responsible distributor, retailer and meter owner;
- Total numbers of active ICPs by gas gate and responsible retailer; and
- Summary registry and switching statistics.
The monthly reports are available by clicking on the links below:
Registry Operator Self-review Reports
Rule 18 requires that the registry operator must conduct a self-review of its performance on a monthly basis. The review must concentrate on the operation of the rules and the registry operator's compliance, in the previous month, with its obligations under the rules, the terms of the service provider agreements and any performance standards agreed between the registry operator and the industry body. Gas Industry Co is required to publish the reports, which can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on the links below.