In May, Transpower announced it had decided to close emsTradepoint and its spot market platform following an unsuccessful process to identify a purchaser. At that time Transpower indicated it would close emsTradepoint on 1 September 2024.

However, in June Transpower announced a number of parties had made Transpower aware of their interest in acquiring emsTradepoint, and it had commenced a process to explore selling emsTradepoint.

Transpower is continuing to work through the process for a potential sale and expects to announce a decision in mid-September. If a sale does not occur, it will continue to explore options ahead of any decision to close the platform.

Existing and future customers can be assured that in the meantime the platform will continue to operate and will not close during September or October if a purchaser is not found. All existing customers of emsTradepoint will be contacted directly regarding today’s announcement, and all existing trades will continue to be honoured.

About emsTradepoint:

emsTradepoint was established in 2013 to create a liquid gas trading platform to support one of Transpower’s critical roles – security of electricity supply. In 2020 the NZU carbon product was added to the platform.

While the platform has improved the liquidity of the gas market and supported the development of a carbon market, the operations are not considered core to Transpower’s business and its extensive electrification work program. Transpower has therefore decided that owning and operating the trading platform is no longer in its interests and is pursuing either sale or closure.