Large electricity users will be required to undergo stress tests to ensure they're well aware of how they would cope with extreme spot prices.
The Electricity Authority's new stress-testing regime will require about 20 large consumers who are directly connected to the national grid, or who buy electricity from the clearing manager, to calculate their exposure to the spot market based on a variety of pricing scenarios.
The information will be provided in a quarterly report to an independent registrar and be published in a way preventing identification.
Electricity Authority chief executive Carl Hansen says hedging arrangements can provide protection against high spot-market prices but not everyone chooses to put them in place.
He says if there is a dry period and there are a few months of high spot-market prices, a business that has not planned might have to send workers home, fail to meet export orders or in an extreme case go bankrupt.
Mr Hansen says the authority wants businesses to fully understand the risks they are taking and that they are fully accountable.
He says he expects the first stress test results to be in by 1 April, although the start date may have to be delayed depending on how long it takes to develop the tests and appoint an independent registrar.
