Transpower New Zealand Limited (TPNZ) is the state-owned enterprise responsible for electric power transmission in New Zealand. Transpower performs two major functions in the New Zealand Electricity Market. As the grid owner it provides a platform for competition among electricity generation companies and as system operator it manages the real time operation of the grid.
Transpower was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Electricity Corporation of New Zealand (ECNZ) in 1987. In 1994, it was separated from ECNZ and corporatised to become a state-owned enterprise with its own board of directors and Ministerial shareholders. The shareholders are the Minister of Finance and the Minister of State Owned Enterprises.
