Analysis - It was a small, but telling and unspoken comment, on the government's tepid response to the Frontier Economics report on avoiding a repeat of last year's winter power crisis.
The share prices of the three 51 percent state owned generators - Genesis, Mercury, and Meridian - all rose between 1 and 3 percent.
Investors were clearly pleased to see the government reject a recommendation to divest from the companies and instead to commit to participating in capital raises for the right projects.
The Crown has earned about $525 million in dividends from the three companies in the past financial year.
Similarly, calls for splitting the generating and retail arms of the power companies were ignored, referenced obliquely by a repeat of the Electricity Authority's recent call for equal treatment in dealing with all power retailers - internal and external.
Depending whether you are earning from the power sector, or paying the power sector the reactions to the government moves have been predictable.
No need for radical change was the view of the generators, and complaints of an underwhelming report that will do little if anything to lower prices from small retailers and industrial and domestic users.
Huntly Power Station Photo: Lynn Grieveson
Importing LNG - a gas, gas, gas
The government has conditionally backed the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with a launch of a formal procurement process for an LNG facility, although details of who would fund and operate such a facility are missing.
A study by gas company Clarus in July concluded importing is feasible, but likely to be costly, unlikely to be ready for some years, and might be needed only occasionally.
The cost of imported LNG is likely to be double that of locally produced gas, with New Zealand faced with paying the global rate, which can be volatile as seen when European countries looked for alternative supplies to reduce use of Russian natural gas after the invasion of Ukraine.
The government also rejected a suggestion it should assume control of providing quick start "firming" thermal power, leaving it once again to the industry and the proposal to have a massive coal stockpile to fire up the Huntly power station when needed.
A sensible suggestion is the government using its bulk demand for electricity for hospitals, schools, offices, prisons and the like, to provide the commercial incentive for power projects - known as power purchasing agreements.
Improve the markets
The second leg to the government policy is to "build better markets".
This centres on making the sector regulator, the Electricity Authority, more powerful and decisive through tweaks to regulations and penalties for bad commercial behaviour.
The authority has a checkered history in overseeing the market, as small electricity retailers will attest. Surprisingly it was only in August this year it said it would look into complaints about treatment and energy pricing, prompting some participants where the authority had been for the past few years.
Resources Minister Shane Jones pointedly called the authority a "chocolate teapot" last year, but seems to have since revised his opinion as the regulator looked to flex its muscles.
The government rejected a recommendation to amalgamate the 29 local lines companies into five super power distributors, but will look to get better collaboration and standardisation among them, and possibly more generation.
That may require changes to rules that limit how much power they can generate.
Softly softly
The government's response to electricity sector reform bears much similarity to its approach to bringing competition to the grocery and supermarket sector.
Lots of talk of significant changes, commitment to decisive action, but then gradual and piecemeal measures, that disappoint many. To quote the well known Yes Minister comedy-satires of the 1980s, governments often need the appearance of activity over achievement.
Financial, legal, commercial, and political challenges abound in bringing real change to improve competition in key sectors of the economy. The jury may be waiting some time before it can make that judgement on the power sector.
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