18200 Demonstrate Knowledge of the New Zealand Wholesale Electricity Market

18200 version 3

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Demonstrate knowledge of the New Zealand Wholesale Electricity Market

PurposePeople credited with this unit standard are able to demonstrate knowledge of: the guiding principles and purpose of the rules of the Wholesale Electricity Market; the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Market; and Electricity Governance Rules.

This AMAP can be accessed at

Special notes

1This unit standard is intended for, but not restricted to, workplace assessment. The range statements across the unit standard can be applied according to industry specific equipment, procedures and processes.

2Safety of personnel and plant must be a priority throughout the assessment. If the safety requirements are not met the assessment must stop and the candidate will be assessed as not yet competent.

3Performance and work practices in relation to the elements and performance criteria must comply with all current legislation, especially the Commerce Act 1986; Electricity Act 1992, and any regulations and codes of practice recognised under that statute; Fair Trading Act 1986; Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992; Resource Management Act 1991; and their subsequent amendments. Electricity supply industry codes of practice and documented industry procedures include the Safety Manual – Electricity Industry (SM-EI) (2004) Wellington: Electricity Engineers’ Association. A full list of current legislation and industry codes is available from the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation, PO Box 1245, Hamilton.

4Industry requirements include all industry and workplace documented policies, procedures, specifications, business and quality management requirements relevant to the workplace in which assessment is carried out.

5The term Electricity Governance Rules refers to the multilateral contract governing the actions and responsibilities of Wholesale Electricity Market Participants and Service Providers. The rules are available at

Elements and performance criteria

Element 1

Demonstrate knowledge of the guiding principles and purpose of the rules of the Wholesale Electricity Market.

Performance criteria

1.1Aspects of the market that foster efficiency and competitiveness are explained and related to industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – voluntary membership, dispatch objective, sustainable development, supply and demand, risk management.

1.2The principle that enables the entry of new buyers and sellers to the Wholesale Electricity Market is described in terms of industry requirements.

1.3Legislation relevant to the Wholesale Electricity Market and compliance required of electricity market participants is described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – Commerce Act 1986, Electricity Act 1992, Fair Trading Act 1986, Resource Management Act 1991

1.4The Electricity Commission’s process for rule making and industry compliance is described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – Electricity Commission Board, Rulings Panel, Electricity Governance Rules Committee, Market Governance Team.

Element 2

Demonstrate knowledge of the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Market.

Performance criteria

2.1The structure and operation of the Wholesale Electricity Market is described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – generator class market participant, purchaser class market participant, non-market participants, Market Governance Team, service providers, prudential security, Commodity Market Information Trading System (COMIT).

2.2The function of service providers to the Wholesale Electricity Market is described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – system operator, reconciliation manager, market administrator, information system provider, clearing manager, pricing manager, and registry.

2.3Wholesale Electricity Market pricing is explained in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – spot, forecast, dispatch, provisional, clearing, and final prices;

nodal pricing: energy, reserve, transmission losses, grid constraints, location factors;

tranches, band, bids, offers.

2.4The processes of producing and submitting a bid and an offer for the Wholesale Electricity Market are described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – conforming and non-conforming load, asset availability and outages, energy and reserve quantities, prices, tranches, band, ramp rates, 2 hour rule, bona fide physical reasons.

2.5Contracts in the Wholesale Electricity Market are described in terms of industry requirements.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – hedges, service contracts, fuel contracts, agreements, futures.

Element 3

Demonstrate knowledge of Electricity Governance Rules.

Performance criteria

3.1The specific rules for all Wholesale Electricity Market participants and service providers are described in accordance with Electricity Governance Rules Parts C, D, E, F and H.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – principle performance obligations and other standards, market supervision rules, breach reporting and investigation, general rules about information disclosure.

3.2The industry specific rules for the market trading arrangements are described in accordance with Electricity Governance Rules Part G.

Rangeincludes but is not limited to – Section ll: Bids and Offers, Section lll: Scheduling and Dispatch, Section lV: Must-Run Dispatch Auction, Section V: Pricing, Section Vl: Reconciliation.

Please note

Providers must be accredited by the Qualifications Authority, or an inter-institutional body with delegated authority for quality assurance, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.

Industry Training Organisations must be accredited by the Qualifications Authority before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.

Accredited providers and Industry Training Organisations assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.

Accreditation requirements and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Accreditation and Moderation Action Plan (AMAP). The AMAP also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.

Comments on this unit standard

Please contact the Electricity Supply Industry Training Organisation if you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.

 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2019