National Policy Statement on electricity transmission

A draft National Policy Statement (NPS) on electricity transmission has been prepared and approved by the Government and a Board of Inquiry set up. The Board has published the NPS and called for public submissions on the NPS by 25 July.

The NPS has been developed because currently, there are no guidelines for local authorities to use when they have to decide on proposals for transmission network development.  Any decisions affecting electricity transmission are important for achieving the purpose of the Resource Management Act – sustainable management of natural and physical resources.  The NPS is, therefore, an acknowledgement by the Government of the national significance of secure and efficient electricity supply, through the electricity transmission network. 

The NPS is intended to address national distribution lines, i.e. lines that have national benefits but (largely) local costs, such as local environmental impacts.  The NPS provides policies that help local councils make decisions about whether and/or where electricity transmission lines should be allowed, and how environmental effects should be managed.  Crucially, however, the actual resource management decisions would still be taken at the local authority level.  The policies outlined in the NPS are therefore intended as guidelines only.

National Environmental Standards (NES) are also being developed in addition to the NPS on electricity transmission.  The NES address the management of electricity transmission in a nationally consistent way.  There will be an opportunity for public input into the development of such standards when the proposed NES have been drafted.

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