Today the AER published a focus report on the wholesale gas Day Ahead Auction (DAA). This report is the first under the AER’s new functions to monitor and report on competition and efficiency in the east coast gas markets.
This focus report looks at the structure and performance of the DAA and the conduct of shippers winning capacity at the auction. The AER will release a series of focus reports in the lead up to our new biennial east coast wholesale gas market competition report, due out in May 2026.
Our analysis found that the DAA is improving efficiency and shipper access to short-term capacity at costs markedly below long or short-term firm equivalents. We also found that neither short term supply constraints nor bidding strategies have acted as a barrier to effective competition in the DAA. Over time, we observed a decrease in the concentration of capacity won amongst shippers, and an increase in the range of shippers winning capacity across a more diverse set of pipelines.
The DAA is a centralised auction platform providing the release of contracted but un-nominated transportation capacity on designated pipelines and compression facilities across eastern Australia. The DAA was designed to create access for shippers on gas pipelines or compression facilities that had previously been contracted but would otherwise be unutilised.