AER works with industry to foster best practice asset replacement planning

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is requesting submissions on a draft industry practice application note to support network businesses in adopting best practice asset replacement planning. We will also hold a forum in Melbourne with industry and other stakeholders on 25 September 2018 to further discuss this work.

The application note aims to give network businesses more confidence that they are meeting the network planning framework in the National Electricity Rules. Providing this confidence will be valuable as industry is improving its transparency around asset retirement, de-rating and replacement decisions under the replacement expenditure rule change.

We will publish the final application note as a companion piece to our new application guidelines for the regulatory investment tests. The new application guidelines will better assist network businesses to apply a cost–benefit analysis when making large investment decisions.

While this application note will complement our new regulatory investment test application guidelines, the two documents differ in that the application note stems from collaboration with industry rather than a requirement under the National Electricity Rules. The note also has a more technical focus for network planners and asset managers that are applying economic assessments to asset replacement decisions, and draws on their experience to date.

Invitation for submissions

We invite written submissions on the application note by the close of business, 19 October 2018. We prefer stakeholders send submissions electronically to AERInquiryaer [dot] gov [dot] au (AERInquiry[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au).

We prefer all submissions be publicly available to facilitate an informed and transparent consultation process. We will therefore treat submissions as public documents unless otherwise requested. We request parties wishing to submit confidential information to:

• clearly identify the information that is subject of the confidentiality claim; and
• provide a non-confidential version of the submission, in addition to a confidential one.

We will place all non-confidential submissions on our website. For further information regarding our use and disclosure of information provided to us, see the ACCC/AER Information Policy.