The Australian Competition Tribunal has dismissed another legal challenge by SP AusNet to increase smart meter prices for the 2012-2015 period. The Tribunal affirmed the AER’s decision in February this year to reject significant price increases sought by SP AusNet due to its choice of communications technology.
The communications technology is used to transmit data between the smart meter and the business’s data system. The cost of SP AusNet’s communications technology – which is different to that used by the other Victorian electricity network businesses – has blown out significantly since SP AusNet’s original estimates.
“The Tribunal’s decision is a significant win for consumers. It confirms the AER was correct in deciding that consumers should not be required to bear the cost of SP AusNet’s decision not to switch to a lower cost technology,” AER Chairman Andrew Reeves said.
The Tribunal’s decision ultimately upholds the AER’s original decision, made in October 2011, to use benchmark costs to provide SP AusNet with an allowance that is comparable to that forecast by other Victorian distributors.
If the AER had accepted SP AusNet’s proposal, current meter prices would have increased by approximately 16 per cent each year in 2014 and 2015 on top of the 7 per cent previously allowed by the AER.