The Australian Competition Tribunal has released its decision on the appeal by SP AusNet against the Australian Energy Regulator's determination on smart meter budget and forecast charges for the period 2012 to 2015.
In its October 2011 determination, the AER rejected $107 million of the $411 million spending proposed by SP AusNet to be passed onto Victorian customers.
SP AusNet chose to adopt a WiMAX technology in preference to the mesh radio technology adopted by the other distributors. The AER considered that SP AusNet should have fully re-evaluated its choice of technology to meet the Victorian Government's smart meter program requirements when it was evident that the costs were significantly higher than initially expected.
In its appeal, SP AusNet claimed the AER made several material errors of fact in determining that SP AusNet should have reconsidered its choice of smart meter technology.
On 3 May, the Tribunal found that the AER had not erred in reaching this conclusion. However, the Tribunal set aside the AER's decision and requires the AER to amend its decision by considering the costs and delays if SP AusNet were to change to a different technology.
The AER's amended decision must also include additional expenditure relating to foreign exchange contracts and project management costs.