Reopening the price-quality path
A reopener enables an EDB to request a change to its price-quality path.
Default price-quality paths (DPPs) are set in a relatively low-cost way and are not intended to meet all circumstances that regulated suppliers may face, especially if these circumstances require significant scrutiny of costs and/or quality targets of a particular EDB.
For various changed circumstances impacting on the DPP in the regulatory period, an EDB can ask us to consider a change to its DPP (ie, a ‘reopener’) or alternatively apply to replace the DPP with a customised price-quality path (CPP).
This page provides information for stakeholders about reopeners and the reopener process. It includes guidance, FAQs and links to past and active reopener applications and decisions.
What reopeners are available?
The Input Methodologies (IMs) set out what reopeners are available. Reopeners fall into three categories:
- Responsive reopeners respond to an identifiable event that has already occurred, eg, natural disasters, legislative or regulatory changes. A risk event reopener is also considered a responsive event.
- Prospective reopeners relate to anticipated or forecast events, where a supplier will have some notice or foresight for a need to invest – such as via enquiries from connecting parties or via demand triggers being met.
- Reopeners outside these categories are a small number of events that fall outside of the above categories, as they have their own distinct processes.
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Responsive reopeners |
Prospective reopeners |
Reopeners outside these categories |
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*Note there may be further reopener types that apply to specific CPPs
Each reopener has specific requirements which must be met before the Commission can consider any change to an EDB’s price-quality path. EDBs need to ensure that their reopener applications meet these requirements before they submit their applications.
When can an EDB expect a decision on its reopener application?
We aim to process reopener applications within four-months starting from when we notify on our website that a reopener application has been received. These timeframes are indicative only and dependent on factors such as:
- the number of reopener applications we have to consider in parallel
- the novelty and complexity of the reopener applications
- the extent and quality of information in the reopener applications
- any requests for further information from applicants and the time taken by applicants to respond to those
- the extent of submissions on the reopener draft decision.
We encourage EDBs to let us know when they are reasonably certain that they will apply for a reopener. This will help ensure we are appropriately resourced to consider their application when it is submitted, e.g. appropriate legal, engineering and modelling resources to assess complex components of an application.
Reopener guidance
We are in the process of developing reopener guidance to assist stakeholders, including EDBs, understand the reopener process, to consider whether to apply, prepare a reopener application and understand how we will assess the application. Our draft guidance document has been published for feedback and can be found here. We will publish our final guidance document on this page.
Our reopener guidance is not a substitute for legal advice and should be read alongside the IMs, to the extent there is any inconsistency between the guidance and the IMs, the IMs prevail.
Where to find more information
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Reopener FAQs
This page will be updated with frequently asked questions as we receive reopener applications and questions from stakeholders.Read more -
DPP4 and DPP3 Reopeners
This page contains links to past and active DPP4 and DPP3 reopener applications and decisions where available.Read more
Contact us
If you need more information, beyond what is provided in the guidance document or the FAQs, please get in touch with us by emailing infrastructure.regulation@comcom.govt.nz