The AER was required to make a final decision to approve or not approve the access arrangement proposal for the Amadeus Gas Pipeline within six months of receipt of that access arrangement proposal from NT Gas. This period can be extended by the AER, but must be completed within 13 months.
The AER is required to follow a prescribed decision making process and timeline under the National Gas Rules (NGR) when reviewing the access arrangement for the Amadeus Gas Pipeline.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Publish proposal | 14 January 2011 |
| Submissions on proposal | 14 February 2011 |
| Release of draft decision | mid March 2011 |
| Revised proposal to be submitted | early April 2011 |
| Submission on draft decision | early May 2011 |
| Release of final decision | early June 2011 |
Note: the AER engaged consultants to assist it in its review of different aspects of the access arrangement proposal for the Amadeus Gas Pipeline including demand forecasts, operating expenditure and capital expenditure.
Stop the clock
The AER decided under rule 11 of the NGR that the period of 64 days for submissions on the draft decision is not counted towards the decision making time for the full access arrangement final decision. This also includes an overlapping period of 35 days for NT Gas to submit a revised proposal.