Stuff reports Gerry Brownlee’s review of the electricity sector. It’s not good news for bureaucrats – here’s a run-down (my thoughts in parenthesis):

• Electricity Commission abolished, functions moved to smaller energy authority (good);
• Commerce Commission to approve upgrade to the national grid (bad – why not the courts?);
• Allowing lines companies to get back into retailing (good – means more competition);
• $15 million fund over three years to promote customer switching between retailers (bad – $15 million? Make the electricity companies advertise the fact?) ;
• Requiring generators/retailers to compensate consumers in the event of conservation campaigns or a dry-year power cut. The sort of compensation being talked about is $10 a week ($10!? – waste of time);
• Transferring power stations between generators (neutral – assume this is to help balance the books);
• Meridian, Genesis and Mighty River Power undertaking virtual asset swaps over 15 years to provide more competition in the island where they currently have little to no generation capacity (bad – doesn’t make it easy to sell assets off!);
• Requiring all major electricity generators to put in place an accessible electricity hedge market (neutral);

Update: No Right Turn is moaning he can’t buy 100% renewable energy from Meridian Energy now. He says Meridian Energy trades on its clean green image. Surely then the best way to prevent that image from being tarnished would be for the Government to sell Meridian off, to stop politicians from horse trading with its assets?