Just came across this thread. Very interesting indeed!

hey, I’ve been working with BizAgi the past few years in a biodiversity context and have a back ground in UML,MDA, J2EE. we should connect! @biowebplusplus

“Race-to-the-top” mgt remuneration rates would soon adjust to a realistic levels in that scenario.

And the criteria for long-term investments getting the go ahead is company IRR, NPV depending on risk and with revenue gain so does the salary and bonus of CEO and top tier mgt as in all other company investments in other sectors. The consumer doesn’t get a look in and bills are way ahead of CPI.

Compare to the Power Board/ECNZ era. Minimal mgt at sensible salaries (NZ is just not that big). Security of supply on networks that made security a focus (e.g. undergrounding overhead lines, current companies are still dining out on that). Consumer charges kept pace with CPI. Simple jobs could be done by a few people at minimal cost (non profit) in the one organization instead of the present owner/contractor/subcontractor structure where everyone has to extract a profit. Lots of small hydros developed (although they had to be bailed out when interest rates went through the roof). Generation “merit order that was religiously adhered to” as described by Chris and so on.

I’m not saying the old way was better because there were flaws in that too but the present structure has not delivered the efficiency gains Max Bradford et al envisaged.

The good things left over are the trusts e.g. TECT and the WEL Trust that retain shares in the companies and return dividends to consumers (along with keeping the debatable “charities” going e.g. surf and helicopter rescue i.e. social causes). I’ve always wondered whether ownership in trust (non govt and kept in NZ) and contestable management was a better structure with the owners/trustees making the long-term decisions on advice from incumbent mgt checked by independent consultants.

Top tier Telecom mgt on $million plus remuneration packages are discovering that they are dispensable if Telstra took over and ran NZ from AU.

Anything out of the Wind Association or their advisors is generally garbage. They are just leeches sponging on the rest of the grid.

Good to get that from the horses mouth, so to speak.

My personal view is the market doesn’t work as it can be gamed. It also works on short term signals to drive long term investments. State intervention is not necessarily good. The Tongariro scheme got given the go-ahead so Hugh Watt could keep the NI hydro construction workforce busy until they could start work on the Mohaka dams.

There are problems with all the alternatives to electricity operation, it is probably a matter of choosing the best of bad alternatives.

You have to wonder whether a pure market is the best solution for utilities like electricity.
Sometimes, a bit of state intervention works ok

The generation data costs a lot of money to collect and bring through the firewall. It is also on limited distribution – generally only senior managers and traders get full access. I think it is about $2-300k pa. I’m certain if you have that sort of money, you can get access to it as well.

I sometimes forget others may be reading who give up on encountering a barrage of jargon and acrobyms. Bad manners in a public forum i guess.