At this month’s Energy Consumers Australia conference a group of seven energy experts sat down to be publicly grilled by Australian Energy Market Commissioner Tim Jordan on a “hypothetical future world scenario”.
In that scenario, a mid-sized Australian gas distribution network faced with a shrinking customer base seeks a 40 per cent tariff increase from the regulator. They’re knocked back to 4 per cent a year for the period.
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Justice and Equity Centre energy program director Douglas McCloskey welcomed the recognition of the need for government action in the directions paper, but said “we are concerned the proposals would still see consumers assume an unfair burden of costs through the accelerated depreciation of network assets”.
“Gas network operators must do more to plan for and actively manage the retreat of network assets that will increasingly become uneconomic. This AEMC proposal makes some good progress, but we need stronger measures to ensure this happens sooner, as the transition away from gas continues to accelerate.”
