Last updated: 04 May 2026
Background
The Emergency Reserve scheme was enabled by an Electricity Authority Code amendment that came into effect on 1 March 2026 and is intended to strengthen power system reliability by enabling paid demand-response during acute system stress events, acting as a penultimate step before instructed involuntary demand management.
Transpower, in its role as System Operator, now need to develop and implement Emergency Reserve as a new ancillary service, and are looking to establish an industry co-design panel to support this work.
Co-design panel
The establishment of a co-design panel for joint workshops will provide practical, operational and market insights to test design assumptions, identify implementation risks (operational, commercial and technical), build shared understanding of how Emergency Reserve differs from existing ancillary services, and help inform draft amendments to policy and procurement documentation, and contractual arrangements.
Transpower expects the panel to participate primarily through a series of facilitated co-design workshops and by supporting the review of outputs, with Transpower retaining access to panel expertise through to implementation as needed.
How to apply to join the co-design panel
An Expressions of Interest (EOI) process will be followed to establish the co-design panel.
Applications are open from 4 May to 20 May 2026.
If you would like to apply, please fill out the application form below and send it to [email protected]