Working title
Practical measures to maintain secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity during low-wind and low-solar periods
Status
Internal discussion draft. Northstar has not approved a formal position, named examples or external submission.
Potential introductory message
Northstar supports a practical transition that maintains electricity security and affordability while creating the predictable conditions needed for infrastructure investment. Any response should focus on deliverability, resilience and consumer value rather than assuming a single technology pathway.
Potential theme 1: Plan for system flexibility
Policy should support a range of flexibility measures, including demand response, storage, interconnection, dispatchable low-carbon capacity and improved network capability where each is cost-effective and deliverable. Arrangements should reward reliable performance during periods of system stress and avoid imposing inflexible requirements that increase costs without improving resilience.
Evidence needed from Northstar: any relevant demand profile, flexibility capability, backup arrangements or operational constraints.
Potential theme 2: Make infrastructure delivery predictable
Maintaining resilience will require timely delivery of generation, networks and enabling infrastructure. Planning, consenting, connection and regulatory processes should be coordinated, proportionate and predictable, with clear accountability for delivery milestones.
Evidence needed from Northstar: examples of projects or operations where planning, consenting, connection or regulatory uncertainty affects delivery, subject to confidentiality review.
Potential theme 3: Protect affordability through whole-system assessment
Policy options should be assessed against their full system and consumer costs, including network investment, balancing, backup, storage, operational changes and delivery delays. Measures that improve resilience should be targeted at the risks they address and supported by transparent impact assessment.
Evidence needed from Northstar: approved analysis of cost exposure, volatility, affordability impacts or investment uncertainty.
Potential theme 4: Give investors stable signals
Long-term policy and regulatory clarity is needed to support investment in low-carbon and resilience-enabling infrastructure. Frequent rule changes, unclear responsibilities or fragmented processes can increase financing and delivery risk without improving outcomes.
Evidence needed from Northstar: approved examples of investment decisions or project planning affected by policy uncertainty.
Potential theme 5: Treat resilience and decarbonisation as connected objectives
Security, affordability and decarbonisation should be considered together. A resilient system should reduce exposure to extreme conditions while maintaining the ability to deliver the transition at pace and at acceptable cost.
Points requiring internal decision
- Whether Northstar should submit written evidence if the process remains open.
- Which operational or investment examples may be named.
- Whether any quantitative figures can be disclosed.
- Whether the submission should be made solely in Northstar’s name or alongside an industry position.
- Who must approve the final text and any external engagement.
No external action should be taken until these points are resolved and formal approval is obtained.