The Wellington-based commission today said it would hold a three-stage conference, starting this Thursday and Friday, to hear submissions on its proposal to control Unison.
In early September the commission declared its intention to control an energy network company for the first time, saying Unison’s electricity distribution business had breached regulatory thresholds set under the Commerce Act.
The commission assessed Unison’s return on investment for the year ended March 2006 to be as high as 12.23%, compared to the commission’s required rate of return of 7.35%, and estimated Unison’s rates of return by region were Taupo 17.36%, Rotorua 14.36%, and Hawke’s Bay 8.25%.
Unison, 100% owned by the Hawke’s Bay Power Consumers’ Trust, supplies consumers in the Hawke’s Bay, Taupo and Rotorua regions.
Today the commission said the November 17-18 stage of the conference would be for people outside the Hawke’s Bay, Rotorua and Taupo regions; the December 5-6 second stage would be set aside for the trust and Unison; while the December 14-15 final stage would involve sessions in Rotorua, Taupo and Napier.
Unison has denied making any excessive distributions to the trust, saying those returns are needed for reinvestment in maintenance and improvements its networks. It says it has invested significantly in improving service quality in Taupo and Rotorua.
