In July 2022, AusNet Gas Services (AusNet) submitted a gas access arrangement proposal for its Victorian gas distribution network for the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2028, and specifies the reference services it will provide, the tariffs for those services and the other terms and conditions on which they will be provided.
After AusNet's proposal was submitted the Victorian government released its Gas Substitution Roadmap. AusNet has now submitted an addendum to its proposal outlining areas in which it considers changes in response to the Roadmap are required.
To allow for consideration of the new information, the period for stakeholder submissions on the proposal was extended to 30 September 2022. The AER hosted an online forum on the proposal on 20 September 2022.
The AER published its draft decision on AusNet's proposal on 9 December 2022. AusNet responded to our draft decision in a revised proposal on 24 January 2023. Submissions on the draft decision and revised proposal closed on 23 February 2023. On 2 June 2023, we released our final decision on AusNet’s access arrangement review for the 2023–28 period.
Six-month extension of current access arrangements for Victorian gas distributors
Our decisions on the access arrangements currently in place for Victorian gas distributors, Australian Gas Networks, Multinet Gas Networks and AusNet were made in November 2017, and cover the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022.
On 20 October 2020, the National Energy Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Vic) was enacted to change the timing of Victorian gas distribution access arrangement periods. The effect of the Act is that our regulatory determinations for affected businesses will now be made for financial years rather than calendar years. To facilitate this, the 2018–22 access arrangement period for Victorian gas distributors have been extended by six months to 30 June 2023. Prices for the period 1 January to 30 June 2023, over which the current access arrangements will be extended, have been set by us in accordance with Orders in Council made on 30 September 2021.
Further information, including our final decision on prices for the extension period, is available under transitional decision.