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"The gentailers no longer operate in New Zealand in a way that enhances competitiveness number one. Number two, the gentailers no longer operate in a vein that boosts or gives greater primacy to the greater interests. Therefore there are provisions under the existing electricity legislation that enables the Crown to use a code of conduct which has legal force to change their behaviour," he said.
"For a long time I've felt there are some significant deficiencies in the actually structural makeup of our wholesale energy market.
"The minister of finance along with the minster of energy are getting some urgent work done to look at what short-term measures can we take if indeed there are some deeper structural failings in the rules and the regulations governing the energy market."
Demand management has always been a key element of the New Zealand structure "but there's nothing to stop the Crown from codifying a new set of rules, a new set of expectations under the EA...sadly that agency has proven to be a chocolate teapot in regulating the excess behaviour of the gentailers who I feel are probably the most powerful economic institutions in New Zealand beyond the supermarkets and the Aussie banks."
RNZ
