Essential Energy submitted a ring-fencing waiver application under clause 5.2 of the Electricity Distribution Ring-fencing Guideline. The waiver application was made to allow Essential Energy to continue owning and operating Essential Water under section 116 of the Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 (NSW). The application was for the re-making of a waiver granted for this purpose in December 2017.
In assessing this application, we gave weight to the argument that as this service is a regulated monopoly. The prices for services offered by Essential Water are regulated by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and it implies to minimal risk of cross subsidisation.
On 3 November, the AER granted the waiver to Essential for a limited duration and will be reviewed prior to the next determination in 2029.