 Welcome to the Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator
The independent Tasmanian Economic Regulator is responsible for regulatory activities in respect of:
- the electricity industry;
- the gas industry;
- the water and sewerage industry; and
- a range of prices oversight issues.
Electricity
The Regulator was first appointed and the Office of the Regulator first established on 1 July 1998 following amendments to the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 (ESI Act). The Regulator and the Regulator's Office were an integral part of the reform of the energy supply industry in the late 1990's.
The ESI Act amendments established an independent economic, technical and safety regulator. This was consistent with the reform of the electricity supply industry and National Competition Policy which required the removal of regulatory functions from government business enterprises.
The Regulator's functions do not include electricity safety matters which are the responsibility of WorkSafe Tasmania.
If you wish to know about electricity retail contestability, please go to our "power to choose" website www.power.tas.gov.au.
Gas
With the introduction of gas into the Tasmanian energy market, the Regulator was given responsibility for gas regulation under the Gas Act 2000, the Gas Pipelines Act 2000, and the Gas Pipelines Access (Tasmania) Act 2000. The Regulator (and the Office) was subsequently renamed the Tasmanian Energy Regulator and the Office of the Tasmanian Energy Regulator respectively.
The Regulator's functions do not include gas safety matters which are the responsibility of WorkSafe Tasmania and the Director of Gas Safety.
Water and Sewerage
The commencement of the Water and Sewerage Industry Act 2008 on 8 July 2008, led to responsibility for the economic regulation of the water and sewerage sector being given to the Regulator.
As a result of this change, the Tasmanian Energy Regulator, the Office of the Tasmanian Energy Regulator and the Government Prices Oversight Commission were renamed on 1 October 2008 as the Tasmanian Economic Regulator and the Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator (OTTER) respectively.
Prices oversight
The Regulator is also responsible for conducting:
- investigations into competitive neutrality complaints;
- inquiries into taxi fare methodology; and
- investigations into the pricing policies of monopoly service providers.
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