We provided advice to the Electricity Authority last week on its 2025-26 levy and workplan proposals. The Authority has a big role in setting the pace of change to ensure people have choices in accessing the energy they need now, and in the future, to ensure they and Aotearoa New Zealand prosper’. Increasing the Authority appropriation for 2025-26 would accelerate upgrading regulatory settings, if the funds are efficiently spent on the right things. Maybe we are biased, but we think it would be great if the Authority had a whole-of-system, forward looking and living checklist (just like the Flexibility Plan) of the learning needed and practical actions to be implemented over the next 10 years or so to deliver its vision. We reckon the checklist will pay for itself in no time by enabling a rigorous and structured approach which avoids thought bubbles, pet projects and vested interests from distracting effort and attention from stuff that will make a tangible different to people. For 2025-26 we think a workplan focused on enabling people to have choices, including about flexibility, would explicitly include and prioritise tasks to fill the holes in the value stack and make it easier for people to discover and assess their flexibility and electricity choices. Prioritising these will bring more of the latent flexibility of households, businesses and communities online to help address the electricity scarcity problems anticipated for winters 2025 and 2026 and complement efforts to strengthen transmission and distribution network resilience. The advice is here. | 
