On 17 February 2021 the AER released its Draft Determination on the Default Market Offer (DMO) price for 2021-22.

We have instructed ACIL Allen Consulting to support us in the design of a forecasting approach for wholesale and environmental costs. A report, Default Market Offer: Wholesale energy and environmental costs estimates for DMO 3 Draft determination, by ACIL Allen Consulting is published alongside the Draft Determination on 17 February 2021.

On 17 February 2021 the AER released its model for calculating DMO prices for 2021-22.

As set out in the DMO 2021-22 Draft Determination, the AER’s approach is to adjust our 2020-21 DMO price based on forecast changes to wholesale electricity, network and environment regulation costs faced by retailers. Retail costs are indexed by forecast CPI.

The model calculates the expected changes in these costs for 2021-22 for each area and customer type.

The information contained in the model is already set out in the DMO 2021-22 Draft Determination, however, we are publishing the model to provide stakeholders with additional transparency on how we propose to calculate the DMO prices for 2021-22. 

We invited written submissions on the Draft Determination. Submissions closed Thursday 18 March 2021.

As part of the AER's consultation process for its DMO 2021-22 price determination we held an online stakeholder forum to discuss key matters for consideration. The forum was held on Wednesday, 10 March 2021. Around 55 stakeholders attended.

The public forum provided an opportunity for stakeholders to hear from AER staff on key points of our Draft Determination. We have provided a summary of stakeholder questions and our answers from the forum.