Monitoring, compliance and enforcement
Under-frequency event determinations
As the regulator of the New Zealand’s electricity industry, we are required to investigate under‑frequency events and allocate event charges accordingly.
Overview
When an under‑frequency event (UFE) happens, it is our job to determine who caused the under-frequency event in order to allocate charges to the causers.
We consult on our draft determinations of the event causers, then consider submissions before publishing our final determinations.
Timeline
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1 - 29 August 2023
Consultation —30 July and 7 October 2022 under-frequency eventsView consultation -
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10 September 2019
Decision —Transpower was the causer of the 14 December 2018 UFE
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10 September 2019
Decision —Genesis was the causer of the 13 December 2018 UFE
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16 July - 13 August 2019
Consultation —Draft determinations of causer for the 13 and 14 December 2018 UFEs
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6 July 2018
Decision —Contact was the causer of the 9 February 2018 UFE
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15 May - 12 June 2018
Consultation —Draft determination of the causer of the 9 February 2018 UFE
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12 December 2017
Decision —Transpower and Meridian were the causers of the 2 March 2017 UFEs
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12 December 2017
Decision —Contact was the causer of the 11 and 15 June 2017 UFEs
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10 October - 21 November 2017
Consultation —Draft determinations of the causers of the 2 March 2017 UFEs
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10 October - 07 November 2017
Consultation —Draft determinations of the causers of the 11 and 15 June 2017 UFEs
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18 April 2017
Decision —Contact was the causer of the 3 October 2016 UFE
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18 April 2017
Decision —Transpower was the causers of the 8 September 2016 UFE
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14 February – 14 March 2017
Consultation —Draft determination of who caused the 8 September 2016 UFE
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14 February – 14 March 2017
Consultation —Draft determination of who caused the 3 October 2016 under-frequency event
Project background
An under-frequency event (UFE) is an interruption or reduction of electricity into the electricity grid, or an interruption or reduction of electricity injected from the HVDC link into the South Island HVDC injection point or the North Island HVDC injection point.
A UFE is caused by an interruption or reduction of electricity from one or more generators of electricity, or an interruption somewhere in the transmission of electricity. The causer of an under-frequency event is either an electricity generator (like Genesis, Mercury or Meridian) or a grid owner (like Transpower).
UFEs need to be avoided because the system needs to keep frequency levels stable across connect systems. Unstable frequencies can damage equipment and can have serious implications when providing electricity at a national scale.
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