Gas industry registry goes live

By Hamish Barwick | Thursday, March 19 2009

System developed by Jade Software receives more than 5000 switch requests in two weeks.

Specialist technology services company Jade Software has delivered the gas industry’s first customer registry system.

Since the system went live on 1 March, it has received more than 5000 switch requests. GIS expects the average monthly figures to be 3000. Pre-Gas Registry switches were estimated by the industry at 1000 a month.

The Gas Registry offers a central repository of data relating to all gas connections, including retailers, distributors and meter owners.

The Registry is designed to improve consumer choice by reducing barriers to switching suppliers and also provide confirmation for reconciling gas accounts between retailers.

Switching from one retailer to another used to rely on an improvised industry-based arrangement. This lacked enforceable timeframes. Industry body Gas Industry Company (GIC) now expects that the process of switching retailers will be achieved more efficiently.

There are about 250,000 installation control points (ICPs) representing dedicated customer connections across New Zealand’s gas network. GIC owns the information, and Jade Software will host the web-enabled registry under contract for five years.

GIC chief executive Christine Southey says the system was a collaborative effort between GIC, Jade and the industry. “The result is a high-performance system that is easy to use, cost–effective to operate, and that provides valuable data for the whole industry,” says Southey in a press statement.