3546
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
No. 149

COUNTIES POWER LIMITED - LINE BUSINESS

DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PURSUANT TO REGULATION 6 OF THE ELECTRICITY (INFORMATION DISCLOSURE) REGULATIONS 1999

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 1999

Counties Power’s electricity business for the year ended 31 March 1999 consisted of line business activities and electricity retailing. To provide the best service to customers these activities were undertaken as a single operation. Accordingly statutory financial reporting and management reporting do not distinguish between line business and electricity retailing activities. For the purposes of these financial statements the reporting entity has been established using the prescribed allocation methodology to provide accounting separation.

Note that the accompanying Statement of Accounting Policies and Notes form part of and are to be read in conjunction with these Financial Statements. These Financial Statements have been prepared solely for the purpose of complying with regulations 6 (2) and 6 (3) of the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999 and are not intended for any other purpose.

CERTIFICATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PERFORMANCE MEASURES, AND STATISTICS DISCLOSED BY LINE OWNERS OTHER THAN TRANSPOWER

We, James McNaughton and Helen Russell, principals of Counties Power Limited certify that, having made all reasonable enquiry, to the best of our knowledge, -

a) The attached audited financial statements of Counties Power Limited Line Business prepared for the purposes of regulation 6 of the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999, comply with the requirements of those regulations; and

b) The attached information, being the derivation table, financial performance measures, efficiency performance measures, energy delivery efficiency performance measures, statistics, and reliability performance measures in relation to Counties Power Limited’s Line Business, and having been prepared for the purposes of regulations 15, 16, 21 and 22 of the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999, comply with the requirements of those regulations.

The valuations on which those financial performance measures are based are as at 31 March 1998.

J. McNaughton
Chief Executive Officer

H. Russell
Director

23 August 1999

AUDITOR’S REPORT

To the readers of the financial statements of Counties Power Limited Line Business.

We have audited the accompanying line business financial statements of Counties Power Limited. The financial statements provide information about the past financial performance of the Company’s Line Business and its financial position as at 31 March 1999. This information is stated in accordance with the accounting policies set out in the Statement of Accounting Policies.

Directors’ Responsibilities
The Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999 require the Directors to prepare financial statements which give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Company’s Line Business as at 31 March 1999, and the results of operations and cash flows for the year then ended.

Auditor’s Responsibilities
It is our responsibility to express an independent opinion on the financial statements presented by the Directors and report our opinion to you.

Basis of Opinion
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes assessing –

• The significant estimates and judgements made by the Directors in the preparation of the financial statements; and
• Whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Company’s Line Business circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.

We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards in New Zealand. We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary. We obtained sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements, whether caused by fraud or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.

Our firm carries out other assignments on behalf of the Company in the area of consulting advice. The firm has no interests in the Company.

Qualified Opinion - Comparative Figures Omitted
Paragraph 2.18 of the Electricity Information Disclosure Handbook issued by the Ministry of Commerce permits energy companies to exclude comparative figures where disclosures are made for the first time for the current disclosure year. Counties Power Limited Line Business has applied this exemption and has not disclosed comparative figures in these circumstances. To this extent, the financial statements of Counties Power Limited Line Business do not comply with Financial Reporting Standard No. 2, Presentation of Financial Reports, or the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999.

We have obtained all the information and explanations we have required.

In our opinion, proper accounting records have been kept by Counties Power Limited Line Business as far as appears from our examination of those records.

In our opinion, except for the omission of comparative figures referred to above, the financial statements of Counties Power Limited Line Business:

• Comply with generally accepted accounting practice; and
• Give a true and fair view of –
  • the financial position as at 31 March 1999; and
  • the results of its operations and cash flows for the year ended on that date; and
• comply with the Electricity (Information Disclosure) Regulations 1999.

Our audit was completed on 23 August 1999 and our opinion is expressed as at that date.

A S Wotton
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Chartered Accountants
On behalf of the Controller and Auditor-General
23 August 1999
Auckland, New Zealand