The proposed Gas Services Information (GSI) Amending Rules include draft amendments relating to the submission and determination of the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) allowable revenue.
The current GSI Rules may limit the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) discretion in determining if the costs related to individual projects are efficient, and limit the ERA’s review timeframes and information gathering powers more generally. In the past this may have resulted in insufficient evidence in the AEMO’s submissions with the onus on the ERA to determine efficient funding levels for AEMO.
The proposed amendments include changes to:
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Address shortcomings with the current rules;
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Include specific functions for the AEMO and the ERA to facilitate and prepare for the evolution and development of the GSI Rules;
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Enable regulatory scrutiny and enhance transparency by:
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identifying projects/functions and related costs up front; and
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increasing transparency over funding allocation and actual expenditures;
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Deal with uncertainty by allowing part approvals and limited in-period reopeners; and
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Promote greater regulatory certainty through the publication of guidelines by the ERA, including proposal and regulatory reporting guidelines.
These proposed amendments will also ensure the relevant provisions in the GSI Rules correspond to the amendments proposed in the Tranche 5 Wholesale Electricity Market Amending Rules, which were published for consultation on 1 November 2021 and can be found here.
A copy of the proposed draft GSI Amending Rules can be found below.
Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the draft amendments before 5:00pm (AWST) 23 November 2021 by submitting comments to energymarkets@energy.wa.gov.au.
