Dear Alan
I have inherited the OIA request on IEA that you made last December (?). [ yes on the 11th of December 2011 ]
It was passed to me late Friday.( 27th of February 2012)
I also see you left a phone message late Friday afternoon. Unfortunately I was out of the office then. Rather than call you back, I think the easiest is to get clarification on your needs by email.
My understanding is that you asked
QUESTION
“What is the annual cost to NZ for Membership of International Energy agency”
ANSWER
There are several categories of IEA costs
The first are administrative, and collectively have a budget of around $300,000
1. IEA Secretariat – this is our annual membership cost
2. IEA implementing agreements – NZ belongs to around 6 expert working groups where we are represented internationally by a number of parties. Generally MED contributes part of the annual funding for these though we try to ensure industry involvement and funding.
3. Paris Advisor – to reduce the high cost of Paris based attendance from NZ we employ a part time adviser in paris.
4. Wellington officials travel - we budget for one to two international IEA related trips per year
The second group is the largest cost – around $2-$4 million per annum (varies by volume needed and international oil price)
5. IEA Oil tickets – this is the cost to NZ of complying with the IEA obligation to have 90 day oil stocks. NZ does not generally have sufficient in country stocks so meets this obligation through purchasing tickets or options contracts on future fuel delivery each year.
I have asked our finance team for a breakdown of budget and actuals over the last years.
In the meantime can you clarify further if the above, or only part of it, is the information you are seeking.
regards
Mark Pickup
Senior Advisor, Energy Markets
Ministry of Economic Development
DDI: 64-4-474 2628
Mob: 64-21-576 908
8th of March 2012: We're still waiting for the breakdown of budget and actuals over the last years.
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Good morning Mark.
Alan Preston here up in Mangawhai, Northland for Save Our Rail , Northland.
Thanks for putting these figures together for us.
" I have asked our finance team for a breakdown of budget and actuals over the last years."
Yes, thanks. It will be useful for us to have the breakdowns too.
" In the meantime can you clarify further if the above, or only part of it, is the information you are seeking."
I have just copied in the original 'Official Information Act Request from Save Our Rail Northland' sent to your office on the 11th of December , 2011 which contains a couple of further questions.
To the Minister(y) of Economic Development ( 11th of December 2011 )
Official Information Act Request:
( please reply to this e-mail to acknowledge receipt )
What is the annual cost in $NZ to New Zealand for our membership of the International Energy Agency ?
Please provide names and contact details for people involved in liasing with the International Energy Agency on New Zealand's behalf:
i.e.
The designated "Operating Agent" who is the lead focal point / contact for the Contracting Party."
http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/ContentTopicSummary____20112.aspx#A1
"IA Executive Committee (ExCo) meetings and other relevant meetings are attended by a designated "Operating Agent" who is the lead focal point / contact for the Contracting Party."
and / or
"We are usually represented on these IEA Working Parties by experts from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)."
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/about-eeca/eecas-role/our-people-and-teams
Given that " The IEA conducts an in-depth review of each member country's energy sector and policies every five years " and the most recent review was published in 2006,
when does the Ministry of Economic Development expect to see the next IEA review of New Zealand ?
Is this the 'ín-depth review' ? http://www.iea.org/press/pressdetail.asp?PRESS_REL_ID=408
Thank you.
Alan Preston for Save Our Rail Northland
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