Commission exempts AmTrust's property activities from the Electricity Industry Reform Act
Published25 Feb 2000
The Commerce Commission has given an exemption under section 81 of the Electricity Industry Reform Act (the EIR Act) to AmTrust Pacific Limited (AmTrust) and certain other New Zealand subsidiaries of AmTrust which are involved with property investment activities in New Zealand. The exemption is from the application of certain sections of the EIR Act for specified property investment and management activities which relate to AmTrust.
The Commission granted the exemption subject to a number of terms and conditions, consistent with previous exemptions given under the EIR Act to property companies.
The Commission's decision follows exemptions given to Trans Tasman Properties Limited, Collwall Property Investment Limited, AMP Limited and Colonial First State Property (NZ) Limited, which also involved the application of the EIR Act to property investment and management activities.
Commissioner Dr Kate Brown said that the decision enhances tenants' ability to choose electricity suppliers. The decision allows tenants of properties which are the subject of the exemption to choose to buy electricity from either their landlord or to shop around for better deals from other electricity suppliers.
The EIR Act was passed in 1998 and came into effect on April 1 last year.
One of the EIR Act's requirements is that organisations must separate their electricity lines businesses from their electricity supply businesses that supply at least 2.5 GWh of electricity per annum. The Commission considers that the definitions in the EIR Act include embedded electrical wiring in buildings as an electricity lines business and selling electricity to tenants as an electricity supply business.
