New Zealand Competition Regulator Warns Horizon Energy

New Zealand’s competition enforcement agency, the Commerce Commission, has warned power lines company Horizon Energy for contravening its network quality standards through an excessive level of power outages in the 2017 and 2018 years.

The warning comes after a lengthy investigation by the Commission and when Horizon, as part of its reporting obligations, disclosed to the Commission that it contravened its quality standards in the year ending March 31, 2018. 

Commission deputy chair Sue Begg said on Wednesday, February 10, that the Commission’s decision to issue a warning letter was made after an investigation which included site visits to inspect the network, as well as the review of information provided by Horizon and the independent opinion of engineering experts Strata Energy Consulting.  

“Our investigation found that Horizon generally had good information about its network and assets. We concluded that the contravention was primarily driven by factors external to and largely outside of Horizon’s control, including defective equipment and adverse weather events,” Begg said.

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