Australian Energy Regulator

Today we published our biennial Wholesale electricity markets performance report - outlining key considerations to manage volatility and incentivise investment in Australia's wholesale electricity market.   What's in it? 🔎 The report provides a detailed look at market competition and efficiency over the past two years, and outlines key recommendations for market design as our energy market evolves.   This year's report also takes a deeper dive into the South Australian market, as we use our new contract market monitoring powers to look at market dynamics in a state where over 70% of its electricity is from renewable generation.   Swipe through below for our report recommendations.   Read the report: https://lnkd.in/g44eRD58   #Wholesale #Electricity #Regulation #Recommendations #EnergyTransition

We welcome the Federal Court's order that Origin subsidiaries pay penalties totalling $12 million for breaches of its life support obligations under the National Energy Retail Rules. What you need to know:  • Origin breached the Retail Rules on more than 5,000 occasions. • These breaches included failing to register customers after being informed by either the customer or distributor that a person at the customer's premises required life support equipment, and failing to provide customers with information packs informing them of relevant protections and assistance.  • Customers were left unregistered for up to 188 days and, in some cases, disconnected from power for up to 66 days. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred. We have previously published guidance to help retailers and distributors understand their responsibilities to customers who rely on life support equipment. Our Chair Clare Savage says "we will continue to investigate and take action when obligations to support vulnerable customers are not met." Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g6XsZNE4 #Customers #Energy #Regulation

Our Chair Clare Savage spoke to The Australian Financial Review on our latest Wholesale electricity market performance report.   Clare said this major review of the national electricity market (NEM) had revealed several issues, including a worrying concentration of power among traditional generators even as a crowd of renewable players dominate the market during the day.   These problems needed to be considered as we work to overhaul the rules of the NEM - which Clare added that while it was not "broken" there was "room for improvement".   “What we would like to see is that it is operating in the long-term interests of consumers, and I think at the moment there are some features of it that may not be."   Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/gnq2HyE2   Note: this full article is behind a paywall.   #Energy #Electricity #Regulation

Meet Kate! 💡 Kate Symons joined us in September as our newest Board Member. With nearly 20 years of legal experience, and her recent role as Chair of the Essential Services Commission in Victoria, Kate brings a wealth of knowledge and a fresh perspective. Three months in, she’s already making her mark. We caught up with Kate as she shares her vision for the AER and discusses the opportunities and challenges of the energy transition, and the importance of keeping consumers at the heart of everything we do. ⚡ #WeAreAER #Leadership #Energy #EnergyTransition

In a win for consumer protection, AGL has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay penalties totalling $25 million for failing to comply with their overcharging obligations related to Centrepay payments, in proceedings brought by the AER. This is the largest penalty ever imposed for breaches of the National Energy Laws.   Here's what you need to know:  ⚫ AGL overcharged 483 Centrepay customers between 9 January 2017 and 28 October 2021. ⚫ AGL committed 16,156 breaches by failing to inform and refund these customers within the required timeframes.  ⚫ Each impacted customer lost nearly $1,000 on average.   Centrepay is a government bill paying service where people use their Centrelink payments to make regular payments for essential goods and services, like energy.   “The actions by AGL negatively impacted hundreds of people over an extended period, many of these may have been experiencing vulnerability" said our Chair Clare Savage.   This sends a clear message of the critical importance of retailers prioritising consumer protections and fully complying with the laws.   Read the detail on our website: https://lnkd.in/gtDRz68y   #Consumers #BreakingNews #Energy #ConsumerProtections

Last week we published a focus report looking at the role of the Gas Supply Hub (GSH) in supporting competition and efficiency in the east coast wholesale gas market.   This is our second in a series of focus reports on gas market operations since our new market monitoring powers were established in May this year.   What you should know:   Trade at the GSH has grown significantly in recent years. Our analysis suggests that the GSH now represents a significant proportion of gas trading in the east coast market. This is due to major growth in the volume and frequency of trade at Wallumbilla - which is clearly shown in the graph below.   Wallumbilla in Queensland is a major gas supply hub, and links gas markets in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria.   Increased trading activity at this hub is delivering several benefits to the broader east coast gas markets.   Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/g-pxun9R #Gas #NewInsights #Wholesale #Regulation

The Australian energy landscape is evolving fast. Walk down any suburban street and you’ll see it firsthand: rooftop solar panels everywhere, feeding clean energy back into homes and into the grid. But with on-site solar now making up over 10% of all electricity delivered by distribution networks, there’s a new challenge – managing all that extra energy flowing back in. And that’s where we come in. At the AER we’re here to make sure distribution network service providers (DNSPs) keep it efficient, responsible and fair for everyone. Every year, we release the Export Services Network Performance Report to track how well DNSPs are adapting to the rapid growth of solar energy and to ensure consumers are protected as our energy system transforms. Here’s what this year’s report shows. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/g942izZ3 #Consumers #ExportServices #NetworkPerformance #EnergyTransition

Celebrating excellence at the AER 🌟 A huge congratulations to Krystle R. from our Compliance and Enforcement branch for winning the Greater Good award at our annual awards ceremony. Krystle’s journey with the AER is a testament to her commitment to consumer protection and her ability to drive change. Starting in our Contacts Team, she listened directly to embedded network customers - many facing financial hardships - and gained insights into their unique challenges. She was able to then apply this knowledge in her role in our Compliance & Enforcement branch - her hands-on experience proved instrumental during the early stages of our current review of the exemptions framework for embedded networks.   This work reflects our ongoing dedication to protecting vulnerable consumers while enabling their participation in energy markets. Learn more about how we balance consumer needs with industry interests in our Compliance and Enforcement Priorities: https://lnkd.in/gNNRwq4z   #Leadership #ConsumerProtection #MakingADifference #WeAreAER

We’ve released our draft decision today on APA’s application to have the Basslink underwater electricity cable linking Tasmania and Victoria converted to prescribed transmission service which would mean it would earn regulated revenue.   Basslink is currently the only cable connecting the two states. It’s been owned by APA since 2022 and currently operates as an unregulated market network service.   There’s so much to our draft decision - we've analysed, consulted, and weighed up the uncertainty of benefits in different future scenarios compared to the certainty of cost and risk transfer to consumers... ... and right now our draft decision is that converting Basslink to a prescribed transmission service is unlikely to support the National Electricity Objective and the long term interest of consumers at this time.    Today we are putting this draft decision out to public consultation and invite you to have your say.   Read the draft decision and our full analysis here – https://lnkd.in/dPZEJ26c Submissions close on 31 January 2025. #Stakeholders #Consultation #Regulation

In partnership with the ACCC, here at the AER we’re not just talking about closing the gender pay gap - we’re actually doing it. And this is evidenced in our latest Gender Equality Report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, confirming that in just two years we have reduced our gap from 5% to 1.6%, meaning we have met our aspirational targets in our pay gap strategy much earlier than predicted.   Our reporting includes six key Gender Equality Indicators by which we hold ourselves accountable. These include: ⚫ Gender composition of the workforce ⚫ Gender composition of governing bodies of relevant employers ⚫ Equal remuneration between women and men ⚫ Availability and utility of employment terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and to working arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities ⚫ Consultation with employees on issues concerning gender equality in the workplace ⚫ Sexual harassment, harassment on the ground of sex or discrimination. Progress happens when someone steps up, and we are stepping up. Are you?   #GenderEquality #PayEquity #WeAreAER