Publications

There are several regulatory processes which the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) must conduct following the completion of the Regulatory Investment Test for the proposed interconnector between SA and NSW. The Energy Security Board’s proposed rule change would allow the AER to conduct two of these processes concurrently rather than sequentially, shortening the time necessary for…

PIAC lodged a submission to Jemena Gas Networks’ Draft 2020 Plan. The document is part of Jemena’s early engagement to inform its formal proposal to the AER for determining its gas network prices for the 2020-25 period. PIAC refutes any claims that gas is a ‘fuel of choice’, and therefore subject to competitive pressures from…

PIAC lodged a submission in response to the AERs draft determination on the Default Market Offer (DMO). PIAC strongly supports the concept of default pricing as a crucial means of ensuring that all consumers have access to a fair price for an essential service, and providing consumers and the market with valuable information on the…

PIAC lodged a submission to the Energy Security Board’s (ESB) draft metrics for its Strategic Energy Plan. The purpose of the Strategic Energy Plan is to ensure a clear, strategic focus for the COAG Energy Council’s work and to provide clarity of direction to market bodies and market participants. Using the proposed metrics, the ESB…

PIAC responded to the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Energy’s consultation on regulations to implement the Australian Energy Regulator’s Default Market Offer (DMO) and reference prices for non-price-regulated regions within the National Electricity Market (NEM). PIAC strongly supports the introduction of a DMO mechanism but outlines extreme concerns with a number of the elements…

PIAC lodged a letter of submission in response to the consultation paper on the draft electricity regulations code (the code) implementing the Default Market offer Price. PIAC supports the implementation of a default pricing mechanism and is broadly supportive of the initial ACCC recommendation 30 from the Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry (REPI). PIAC contends that…

PIAC lodged a submission in response to the AER’s draft Customer Hardship Policy Guideline. PIAC supports the development of a Customer Hardship Policy Guideline but regards the process and the draft guidelines as an interim step and that a more fundamental re-evaluation of the framework for supporting and assisting consumers is needed. PIAC provides a…

PIAC lodged a submission in response to the AERs draft hardship guidelines. PIAC supports the process to strengthen customer hardship protections, by updating the guidelines and ensuring that they are applied more consistently by making them enforceable by the AER. However, PIAC does not think the draft guidelines provide adequate direction to retailers, or put…