Our report sets out our analysis of key outcomes and trends in the operational and financial performance data we collect from fully regulated gas transmission and distribution pipelines updated for the 2022 regulatory year.
Key findings include:
- Total revenue recovered from gas customers for distribution scheme pipelines decreased by 2.5 per cent since 2021.
- Distribution service outcomes are strong with outages reported at record lows and unaccounted for gas levels relatively low over the reporting period.
- Distribution scheme pipeline revenue per customer continues to trend downwards from a peak of $455 in 2015 to $328 in 2022. This reflects distribution customer average annual growth of 1.9% from 2011 to 2022.
- Gas networks have been recovering more revenue than forecast. The main driver of the outperformance appears to be demand—such as distribution customer numbers growing faster than forecast.
- Transmission scheme pipeline revenue collected in 2022 remained similar to 2021 for transmission, with APA Victorian Transmission System (VTS) increasing by 3.8% and Roma to Brisbane Pipeline (RBP) decreasing by 8.3%
- Capital base growth is modest, but variable between distribution and transmission scheme pipelines at 1.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively.
- The average actual return on assets fell by 90 basis point compared to 2021 to a low of 4.4%. Since reporting commenced the difference between the allowed return on assets and actual return on assets is at its lowest point.
- Scheme pipelines continue to earn returns above the allowed return on assets. Our return on regulated equity measure increased on average by 3.3 per cent, mainly due to actual inflation being higher than forecast.
Our future network performance reports will continue to closely monitor gas scheme pipelines’ demand, investment, and asset base growth to ensure consumers are paying no more than necessary for a safe and reliable supply of energy.