Direct Lobbying Transparency
| Overall Assessment | Comment | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive | Vector Ltd provides an extensive and detailed picture of its climate-policy lobbying. It names numerous specific measures it has engaged on, including submissions on the “Gas Transition Plan Issues Paper,” the “Climate Change Commission draft advice on ERP2,” the “Natural and Built Environment Bill Exposure Draft,” “Reforming the NZ ETS – Proposed Settings,” as well as the Commerce Commission’s “Default Price-Quality Path for Gas Pipeline Businesses 2022: Draft Decision,” the Electricity Authority’s “Issues Paper on Updating the Regulatory Settings for Distribution Networks,” and MDAG’s “Price Discovery in a Renewables-Based Electricity System” options paper. The company also spells out how it lobbies and whom it targets, disclosing direct mechanisms such as full submissions, cross-submissions, commissioned expert reports, feedback workshops and consultations, and identifying specific counterparts such as the Commerce Commission, Electricity Authority, Gas Industry Company, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Ministers and officials involved in the national Energy Strategy, and sector working groups. Finally, Vector is explicit about what it wants to achieve: it seeks measures that “preserve regulated investment cost recovery for gas networks,” introduce “regulatory standards for smart electric vehicle charging,” ensure the Commerce Commission’s IM review gives “particular emphasis to long-term dynamic efficiency considerations,” mandate a “24/7 operating envelope at each ICP” for distributed energy resources with electricity distribution businesses acting as default DER managers, and adopts MDAG’s recommendations to strengthen competition and improve wholesale-market monitoring. This combination of clearly named policies, well-described engagement channels and targets, and precise policy outcomes demonstrates a very high level of transparency in Vector’s climate-related lobbying activities. | 4 |