​​​​​​​Extens​ion of Determination (December 2020)

The 2016 Standing Offer Price Determination was scheduled to expire on 30 June 2021. On 20 July 2020, the Premier wrote to the Regulator and advised that, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Government will introduce legislation to extend the expiry date of the 2016 Determination by one year to 30 June 2022.

The Electricity, Water and Sewerage Pricing (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2020 (the Bill) was subsequently introduced into Parliament on 13 October 2020, passing the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council on 10 November 2020 and 18 November 2020 respectively. The Bill received Royal Assent on 27 November 2020.

In relation to retail electricity pricing, the Electricity, Water and Sewerage Pricing (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2020 extends the 2016 Standing Offer Determination by 12 months by amending the expiry date specified in section 40AA of the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995. While no changes have been made to the Determination itself, the Regulator has amended the Standing Offer Price Approval Guideline to account for the extension of the Determination​. ​​​

Changes to the Standing Offer Price Approval Guideline (December 2018)

The 2016 Standing Offer Determination requires Aurora Energy to submit draft standing offer prices to the Regulator for approval in accordance with the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 and the annual standing offer price approval process. The annual process is set out in the Standing Offer Price Approval Guideline.

In 2018, the Government introduced legislative changes that affect the annual price approval process. Consequently, the Guideline was updated to reflect these changes.

The Regulator sought feedback on draft changes to the Standing Offer Price Approval Guideline.

​​One submission was received from Aurora Energy.

Aurora Energy generally supported the proposed changes to the Guideline, however, Aurora also proposed the use of a forecast approach to estimate customer numbers for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years. The Regulator considered that ​the driver for the proposed changes was to align the Guideline with the current legislation not to, effectively, re-open the current determination and its underlying methodology partway through the regulatory period. The Regulator therefore considered that this matter would be more appropriately dealt with as part of the next pricing investigation when broader consultation is carried out.​

In February 2019 the Regulator published the final updated Standing Offer Price Approval Guideline.​​

Changes to 2​​​​016 Standing Offer Price Determination (June 2016)

On 3 June 2016, the Regulator received a proposal from Aurora Energy to amend the 2016 Standing Offer Determination to correct an error in the Determination which effectively requires Aurora Energy to impose interest on overdue accounts on a different basis than currently occurs.

The proposed amendments corrected the error and, therefore, allow Aurora Energy to continue to impose interest on overdue accounts on the same basis as it does at present.

The Regulator sought comments on the proposed amendments to the Determination and released a Consultation Pap​er ​ and a marked up copy of the Determination outlining the proposed changes to assist interested parties in making submissions.

Submissions closed at 5:00pm on Friday 24 June 2016. The Regulator received one submission from Aurora Energy Pty Ltd. Aurora's submission supported the proposed amendments.

On 29 June 2016, after considering the comments made in the submission, the Regulator published an amended Determination incorporating the proposed changes.

The amendments do not impact on the standing offer prices that the Regulator approved, on 16 June 2016, to apply from 1 July 2016.

Final Report and Final Determination

On 5 May 2016, the Regulator made its Final Determination and published its Final Report and Final Price Approval Guideline. Accompanying this release, the Regulator also published a media release.

On 5 May 2016, the Regulator also advised Aurora Energy that it had approved Aurora Energy's Standing Offer Price Strategy subject to Aurora Energy making a number of amendments to the strategy. The final Aurora Energy Standing Offer Price Strategy is available here.

A Statement of Reasons was also published on 5 May 2016, explaining the changes made to the Draft Report, Draft Determination, Draft Guideline and Draft Strategy arising from comments made in submissions from the consultation processes.

Draft Standing Offer Price Strategy

On 9 March 2016, the Regulator released Aurora Energy's Draft Standing Offer Price Strategy for public comment.

The Regulator invited public submissions on the Draft Price Strategy. To assist interested parties in making a submission, the Regulator prepared a Consultation Paper. Submissions closed on 1 April 2016 and four late submissions were accepted.

Submissions were received from:

  Aurora Energy - Price Strategy March 2016   (394Kb)

  TasCOSS - Price Strategy March 2016   (1Mb)

  TasNetworks - Price Strategy March 2016   (7Mb)

  Energy Networks - Price Strategy March 2016   (867Kb)

  Tasmanian Renewable Energy Alliance - Price Strategy March 2016   (308Kb)

  Tasmanian Government - Price Strategy March 2016   (51Kb)

All submissions were taken into account prior to the Regulator approving Aurora Energy's Standing Offer Price Strategy in April 2016.

Draft Report and Draft Determination

On 5 February 2016, the Regulator released its Draft Report, Draft Determination and Draft Price Approval Guideline. The Draft Report was accompanied by a media release​​.

The Regulator invited public submissions on the Draft Report, Draft Determination and Draft Price Approval Guideline. To assist interested parties in making a submission, the Regulator prepared a Consultation Paper. Submissions closed on 15 March 2016 and one late submission was accepted.

Submissions were received from:

  Aurora Energy - Standing Offer March 2016   (2Mb)

  TasCoss - Standing Offer March 2016   (667Kb)​

Both submissions were taken into account prior to the Regulator preparing its Final Report and making its Final Determination.

Aurora Energy's preliminary submission to the Standing Offer Pricing Investigation

On 30 September 2015, Aurora Energy made its preliminary submission to the Standing Offer Pricing Investigation. Prior to receipt of the submission, Aurora Energy had written to the Regulator requesting that the submission be treated as confidential. In accordance with section 16(1) of the Electricity Supply Industry Act 1995 and its Policy on the Treatment of Confidential Submissions (Version 3, 1 July 2014), the Regulator agreed to keep the preliminary submission confidential due to commercial sensitivity considerations.

Notice of intention to conduct a pricing investigation

On 2 July 2015, the Regulator announced its intention to conduct a Price-regulated Retail Service (Standing Offer) pricing investigation.

On 29 April 2016, the Regulator advised stakeholders that its Final Investigation Report will be released, and its Final Determination will be made, on or before 6 May 2016. The completion date for the investigation was extended so that the Regulator could adequately address all of the issues raised in response to the Draft Report, Draft Determination, Draft Price Approval Guideline and Aurora Energy's Draft Standing Offer Price Strategy. The Regulator subsequently issued an amended notice.

The timeframes for the investigation were as follows:

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