Discussion Papers, Presentations and Reports
Previously Consulted On
Revision of Essential Services and Minimal Load Guidelines
The original set of Guidelines were issued in February 2009, with the aim of providing clarity and consistency in the designation process for ESPs and MLCs.
The purpose of this revision of the Guidelines is to reflect experience to date on the designation process, and particularly arising from the Maui Pipeline outage in October 2011. Gas Industry Co is undertaking a comprehensive review of the Gas Governance (Critical Contingency Management) Regulations 2008, and it may be that this review will lead to changes in how ESPs and MLCs are defined and designated. It can, however, be a lengthy process to make changes to regulations, and industry participants have indicated a desire for an interim measure. As such, Gas Industry Co considers it appropriate to provide greater clarity to industry participants through a revision of the current Guidelines, so that lessons from recent experiences are implemented in a timely fashion and as far as possible within the scope of the regulations as they are currently drafted.
Please note that the proposed revisions to the Guidelines relate only to ESPs, not MLCs. Also, future changes to the regulations may require a further revision of the Guidelines or may negate the need for them.
The latest Guidelines can be found here
Submissions received
Review of Gas Critical Contingency Management: Post Maui Pipeline Outage
Gas Industry Co has engaged Concept Consulting Group to review the effectiveness of the critical contingency management processes and governance arrangements during the Maui outage.
Their discussion paper, “Review of Gas Critical Contingency Management” Post Maui Pipeline Outage”, can be accessed below. We are keen to get your feedback and invite submissions on:
· Concept’s discussion paper generally; and
· Specific questions developed by Gas Industry Co arising from Concept’s discussion paper, which can be found in this document: Critical Contingency Review - Questions from Gas Industry Co
Submissions closed on Monday, 2 July 2012.
Update 31 July 2012
Gas Industry Co has analysed the submissions received on the Concept Consulting Group discussion paper, ‘Review of Gas Critical Contingency Management: Post Maui Pipeline Outage’, which can be found in the Submissions Analysis document.
Next steps
While submitters supported most of the recommendations in the Review Report, the submissions analysis notes that there is more work to be done in the areas of:
· Defining which, if any, customer categories would qualify for Essential Service Provider status beyond those providing critical care serv ices.
Gas Industry Co is working on preparing a Statement of Proposal, which is the formal description of proposed amendments to the CCM Regulations. We expect to issue this document for consultation in the current quarter.
Submissions received
Presentation - Emergency Management Arrangements Workshop
This presentation from an industry workshop in May 2007 contains an updated and revised approach to emergency management based on submissions analysis from the July 2006 discussion paper. The proposal given at the workshop is a combination of a mandatory framework based on regulations together with industry arrangements that provide the details. The presentation also highlights key design issues and explores how the proposed hybrid approach will interact with MPOC mechanisms and processes.
Discussion Paper - Review of Gas Emergency Arrangements
This discussion paper reviews the current arrangements for dealing with gas outages and contingencies, recommends mandatory arrangements be put in place, and highlights the issues and design decisions that need to be addressed. Gas Industry Co will take into account feedback received on the paper when undertaking the detailed design of gas emergency arrangements.
Submissions received
Report - Emergency Management and Gas Outages: Economic Issues
This report, prepared for Gas Industry Co by Farrier Swier Consulting in association with Johnson Winter & Slattery, advises on the commercial issues involved in updating the National Gas Outage Contingency Plan (NGOCP). The overall objective is to develop a soundly based policy for pricing under outage and contingency situations. The report sets out detailed background information and analysis to enable stakeholders to provide informed input as a basis for a decision by Gas Industry Co on the most appropriate approach.