✨ Commerce Act Notice
COMMERCE ACT
(DECISION NOT TO DECLARE CONTROL – 1 APRIL 2009 TO 31 MARCH 2010: ALPINE ENERGY LIMITED, CENTRALINES LIMITED, EASTLAND NETWORK LIMITED, HORIZON ENERGY DISTRIBUTION LIMITED, NELSON ELECTRICITY LIMITED, NETWORK TASMAN LIMITED, ORION NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, OTAGONET JOINT VENTURE, POWERCO LIMITED, THE LINES COMPANY LIMITED, TOP ENERGY LIMITED AND WELLINGTON ELECTRICITY LINES LIMITED)
NOTICE 2011
All suppliers of electricity lines services (other than those supplied by Transpower New Zealand Limited) are subject to default/customised price-quality regulation under Part 4 of the Commerce Act 1986 ("the Act"), unless they are exempt.¹
Section 54J(2)(a) of the Act provides that on and after 1 April 2009, the thresholds for large electricity lines businesses that expired on 31 March 2009 are deemed to be section 52P determinations that apply those thresholds to each supplier as if the thresholds were default price-quality paths.
The thresholds for large electricity lines businesses that expired on 31 March 2009 are contained in the Commerce Act (Electricity Distribution Thresholds) Notice 2004, published as a Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette, 31 March 2004, No. 37, page 927.
Section 54N of the Act provides for the transition from the targeted control regime under Part 4A to price-quality regulation under Part 4. Part 4A continues to apply in connection with breaches of the default price-quality path that occur before 1 April 2010. The Commerce Commission ("Commission") may take action in relation to a breach as if the Commerce Amendment Act 2008 (which repeals Part 4A) had not been enacted, except that the purpose in section 52A must be taken to be the purpose of Part 4A.²
Default price-quality paths applying from 1 April 2009
A breach of a default price-quality path that occurs before the close of 31 March 2010 must be dealt with in accordance with section 54N. For such a breach, the Commission may publish a notice of intention to declare control under Part 4A at any time before the expiry of 12 months after the end of the financial year in which the breach occurs.³
The process for making decisions on declarations of control was set out in section 57H of Part 4A (repealed), as applied by section 54N, which provided that the Commission must:
(a) assess large electricity lines businesses against the thresholds set under this subpart; and
(b) identify any large electricity lines business that breaches the thresholds; and
(c) determine whether or not to declare all or any of the goods or services supplied by all or any of the identified large electricity lines businesses to be controlled, taking into account the purpose of this subpart; and
(d) in respect of each identified large electricity lines business,
(i) make a control declaration; or
¹ See section 54G of the Act – suppliers of electricity lines services that meet the "consumer-owned" definition in section 54D of the Act are exempt from default price-quality regulation. A list of consumer-owned businesses can be found on the Commerce Commission’s website. This list is for information purposes only and has no legal effect.
² See section 54N(4) of the Act.
³ See section 54N(2)(b) of the Act.
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NZ Gazette 2011, No 42
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Decision Not to Declare Control under Commerce Act
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🏭 Trade, Customs & IndustryCommerce Act, Decision, Control, Energy Companies