Gas Governance Review The gas sector is currently co-regulated by the Government and industry-owned Gas Industry Company (GIC). This co-regulation has been the case since 2004, though major gas outages last year have raised the question, do we need to rethink this governance model? In our recent [...]
State-owned enterprises in Georgia The New Zealand government currently owns thirteen state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The Georgian government on the other hand owns approximately 160 SOEs with a further 70-plus owned by local government. Over the last year, TDB director Phil Barry has had the opportunity to work [...]
Productivity in the electricity lines sector One of the biggest challenges the New Zealand economy faces is how to boost its productivity. By increasing the output that is produced with a given amount of resources, increased productivity means we can all be better off. We were surprised, [...]
The Wellbeing Framework The Government’s wellbeing approach to its budget and policy-making has been held up as a world-leading new approach. But how new is it really, and most importantly, will it actually make us better off? In a recent article in the NBR, TDB Director Phil [...]
Are there too many electricity distributors? A long-standing debate in the New Zealand electricity sector is whether the country has too many electricity distribution businesses (EDBs). In our recent report looking at the potential benefits from amalgamation of the current 29 EDBs, we found that amalgamation is [...]
Commerce Commission price reviews The Commerce Commission has recently accepted applications from Wellington Electricity and Powerco to go on customised price-quality paths (CPPs), allowing new revenue limits to be set for these electricity distribution businesses. After processing the two applications, the Commission published an open letter seeking [...]