Electricity registry
The Electricity registry is a national database of every installation connection point in New Zealand. It supports hundreds of thousands of consumers switching power company every year.
On this page —
About the registry
The Electricity registry facilitates the exchange of information between retailers, metering equipment providers and distributors to manage reconciliation, invoicing and switching processes.
The registry provides next day notification of any information changes to registry users affected by the change. For example, it notifies a retailer if one of its installation control points (ICPs) has switched suppliers.
The Electricity registry does not contain meter readings or any personal information about the consumer at the property.
Information for industry participants
The following information is for industry participants and may include technical language.
How to access the registry
The Electricity Authority can grant access to the registry to:
- participants for the purposes of fulfilling their Code obligations - traders, distributors, metering equipment providers and the reconciliation manager
- non-participants who require access to the registry for regulatory, law enforcement or investigation purposes
- electricity industry regulator access.
Read our access policy below and request access via email to info@ea.govt.nz. A user manual is available to download from the Electricity registry login page.
Industry participants' obligations
The following participants are required to enter ICP information into the Electricity registry:
- Distributors - create the ICP and must enter information about the network connection of the ICP eg, grid exit point, address, loss factors
- Metering equipment providers - need to enter information about the metering located at the ICP eg, meter serial number(s), AMI status, register content codes
- Retailers - must enter information about the reconciliation process at the ICP eg, retailer's participant ID, reconciliation type, profile etc.
Part 11 of the Code details the management of information held by the registry.
How to transfer ICPs
The transfer of ICPs can occur between one participant and another participant of the same type. Part 11 of the Code has the process for switching ICPs between distributors, retails and metering equipment providers. To follow is an overview for each.
Transfer of ICPs between distributors
Distributors must comply with the requirements set out in Schedule 11.2 of the Code when transferring ICPs from one network to another (including embedded networks).
To request the transfer of ICPs, complete and return the following transfer form.
Transfer of ICPs between traders (consumer switching)
Traders (generators or retailers) must comply with Schedule 11.3 of the Code when transferring ICPs from one trader to another.
To request the transfer of ICPs, follow the process in the functional specification on the Electricity registry.
Switches of ICPs between traders may be reversed using the switch withdrawal process and the approved switch withdrawal advisory code (contained in the functional specification on the Electricity registry).
The Electricity Authority must publish the switch withdrawal advisory codes under clause 18(b) of Schedule 11.3 of the Code.
Transfer of ICPs between metering equipment providers
Metering equipment providers must comply with the requirements in Schedule 11.4 of the Code when transferring ICPs from one metering equipment provider to another.
To request the transfer of ICPs, follow the process in the functional specification on the Electricity registry.
Electricity registry
Use the registry for secure information exchange, reconciliation, invoicing and consumer switching.