The AER has approved Origin Energy’s cost recovery application for being the designated Retailer of Last Resort (RoLR) for six retailer failures between 24 May 2022 and 1 September 2022.

Under the National Energy Retail Law, Origin applied for $4,333,337.96 ($ nominal) in compensation for costs incurred for those events, through which it took on 12,749 electricity customers as a designated RoLR. 

With the approval of these applications, Origin is now allowed to pass through this amount evenly across the customer bases in the electricity distribution areas of Endeavour Energy, Energex, Ergon Energy, Essential Energy and SA Power Networks. 

The bill impact will be a one-off 94 cents ($ nominal) added to the average household electricity bill for all customers in these distribution areas in 2025-26. 

A note from the AER

This was the first time the AER had received cost recovery applications in relation to actual RoLR events. We undertook consultation with key stakeholders to help inform our decision-making process. 

The RoLR framework is a crucial element of Australia’s energy system, guaranteeing continued supply of energy to customers affected by their retailer exiting from the market. In 2022 there was an unprecedented seven RoLR events in total. 

The AER recognises the efforts of Origin and the other appointed RoLRs in continuing to supply energy on and around the June 2022 market events, thereby supporting the continued functioning of the energy market.