The Commission has just published its third set of one-page summaries of key performance measures for each of New Zealand’s 29 electricity lines companies, with the latest data showing that capital expenditure across the sector has increased by 16% and operational expenditure is up 5%.

Deputy chair Sue Begg said with three full sets of summaries now published, “the purpose of these summaries is to shine a light on lines companies’ performances and with a third set of data now published there are some interesting trends emerging".

“Through our own analysis when comparing the data sets, we have seen that overall demand has increased over the past year in terms of total energy delivered, peak demand, network capacity and customer numbers.

“Across the sector, capital expenditure has increased by 16% and operational expenditure is up 5%, which is significantly higher than the three year average. In 2018, total revenue has also increased by nearly 4%; however lines companies’ collective return on investment has dropped 1% and regulatory profit decreased by nearly $100 million (12%).”

Begg says there remain differences between the performances of different lines companies, such as the health of assets including poles, lines and substation equipment, and also in the detailed knowledge the companies have of the condition of their assets.

“Where we identify any specific performance issues, particularly in terms of the risk posed by aging assets, we will be following up with lines companies to ensure their management plans are properly accounting for their network requirements,” Begg said.