The AER is required to make an access arrangement final decision within six months of receipt of ActewAGL’s proposal to approve or not approve the access arrangement proposal. This period was extendable by the AER but only out to 13 months after receipt of the proposal.
The AER is required to follow a prescribed decision making process under the National Gas Rules (NGR) when reviewing the access arrangement for the ACT, Queanbeyan and Palerang distribution network. The following indicative timetable outlines key stages in the review process. It was be updated after each key stage of the review process.
| Milestone | Date* |
|---|---|
| Publish proposal | 22 July 2009 |
| Forum on proposal in Canberra** | 27 July 2009 |
| Submissions on proposal | 11 September 2009 |
| Release of draft decision | 12 November 2009 |
| Forum on draft decision in Canberra** | 17 November 2009 |
| Revised proposal to be submitted | 6 January 2010 |
| Submissions on draft decision | 12 February 2010 |
| Release of the final decision | early April 2010 |
*Please note this timeline is subject to change.
**Milestones not mandated under the NGR.
Stop the clock. The AER made the following decisions under rule 11 of the NGR.
Consultation process on access arrangement proposal. The AER decided that the period of 51 days for consultation on the proposal was not counted towards the decision making time for the full access arrangement final decision.
Draft decision consultation. The AER decided a period of 92 days for submissions on the draft decision was not to be counted towards the decision making time for the full access arrangement final decision. This also included an overlapping period of 55 days for ActewAGL to submit a revised proposal.