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 Utilities LicensingApplications for Electricity Supply and Gas Supply Licenses | Final Decision - Compliance Audit Framework | Regulators Harmonise Compliance Audit Approach | Position Paper - Compliance Audit Framework | The Commission's responsibilities for Utilities | Performance and Compliance Reporting | Licence Applications | Annual Licence Fees | Consumer Protection Code | Current Licensees (Electricity, Gas and Water) Applications for Electricity Supply and Gas Supply Licences"The National Electricity Market Management Company Limited suspended Energy One Limited (Energy One) from trading in the National Electricity Market from midnight, 22 June 2007 (see http://www.energyone.com.au/). ACT customers who previously purchased electricity from Energy One were transferred to the ACT's Retailer of Last Resort, ActewAGL Retail from 00:00 hours on 23 June 2007. As a conseqence of the suspension of Energy One from the National Electricity Market, the Commission has suspended Energy One's licence to supply electricity in the ACT until such time as it can resume supplying electricity. Final Decision - Compliance Audit FrameworkThe Commission has made a final decision on the design and implementation of a compliance audit framework for utilities licensed in the ACT. The compliance audit program, which will commence in 2006, will supplement the Commission's annual compliance reporting program. The principal aim of the program is to assess the adequancy of licensees' internal policies and procedures for managing and monitoring compliance with statutory and licence obligations. A secondary aim is to look in greater detail at the data reported by licensees in the annual compliance reports and the systems used to capture it. The audits will be targetted, focussed on exceptional situations rather than the general rule. To ensure that the regulatory burden (and its cost) is reasonable, the Commission will seek to identify overlap in terms of the timing and scope of compliance audits proposed by regulators in other jurisdictions and the ACT Technical Regulator. Where regulatory obligations are reasonably comparable and after consulting with licensees, the Commission will either rely on the other regulator's audit or undertake a joint audit instead of conducting separate audits. See Below Report 14 of 2005 : Compliance Audit Framework, November 2005 ( Regulators open letter, December 2005 ( The Commission is seeking comment on its proposed approach to compliance audits outlined in Position Paper - Compliance Audit Framework, Report 4 of 2005. ( In monitoring licensees' compliance with their statutory and licence obligations, the Commission has tended to rely largely on utilities' self-assessment of their performance and reporting of that performance to supplement and complement the existing reporting program. This program is intended to commence in the new financial year. The Utilities Act 2000 (ACT) provides a regulatory framework for utilities in the ACT. The Act establishes industry and technical codes which apply to utilities operating in the ACT. The Independent Competition and Regulatory commission (the Commission) is responsible for administering the framework, with technical regulation provided by the ACT Planning and Land Authority (ACTPLA) and complaints handled by the Essential Services Consumer Council (ESCC). In relation to licences, the Commission has responsibility particularly for:
The Utilities Act 2000 (ACT) requires that anyone providing a utility service in the ACT must hold an appropriate operating licence. Utility services include:
Under the Utilities Act, utilities are required to report to the Commission annually on the performance of their functions under the statute and their compliance with licence conditions. Reports are on a financial year basis and must be submitted to the Commission within three months of the end of that year (ie by 1 October). The reported information forms the basis for the Commission's compliance reports and performance reports for licensed utility service providers. For 2003-2004 refer: Compliance Report for 2003-2004 ( To assist interested persons in preparing an application, the Commission has developed the following documents: Information Sheet: Licensing of utilities under the Utilities Act 2000 (ACT). ( Each licensed utility must pay to the Commission the annual licence fee for each year, or part of a year, in which the licence is in force. The Utilities Act 2000 (ACT) sets out the method by which the Commission may determine the annual licence fee payable by each utility. The annual fee for a particular utility is the amount considered by the Commission to be a reasonable contribution towards the costs incurred, or expected to be incurred by the Commission, the Essential Services Consumer Council and the ACT Planning and Land Authority in the exercise of functions under the Utilities Act 2000 (ACT) in relation to the relevant utility service. Details about the licence fees for 2004-05 can be found at the following link:- Utilities (Annual Licence Fees Determination) The Commission has granted, under Section 37 of the Utilities Act 2000, the following licences to utility service providers: Electricity Distribution and Connection Services Electricity Supply Services
Gas Transmission Services Gas Distribution and Connection Services Gas Supply Services
Sewerage and Water Supply Services Copies of the licences may be obtained, on payment of a fee, by contacting the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission on (02) 6205 0779. Licences may also be inspected, free of charge, at the Commission's office on Level 7, Eclipse House, 197 London Circuit, Civic. |
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