The AER has received the second round of Tariff Structure Statement (TSS) proposals from the Queensland, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory electricity distribution businesses (Accessible via the attached links.)
Consumers are charged by retailers for their electricity use. Distribution prices are a significant part of the final retail bill that consumers receive and cover the cost of poles and wires and other critical infrastructure like zone substations.
The process by which distributors convert their revenues into tariffs is governed by a new set of arrangements in the National Electricity Rules (NER). Broadly, these new rules aim to achieve three objectives:
- Better signals of the cost drivers of distribution networks.
- The explicit consideration of the impact of changing tariffs, as part of a stakeholder dialogue based approach to their design and implementation.
- Transparency and greater certainty as to the tariff strategies that will be employed during a regulatory period.
The AER expects to make draft decisions on these proposed Statements by 1 July 2016 and final decisions by 30 January 2017. Dates and further information on the consultation stages will be announced shortly.