Energy Action : AER releases final determination on revenues for Victorian electricity networks ACT/South Australia gas network

For the Victorian electricity networks, this allows real increases from +3.6% to -4.3% for revenue to be collected in calendar 2017 above that collected in the current year. In making this final determination, the AER has significantly backed away from its draft determination which saw cuts of 7% to 9% across the networks. It also comes whilst the long running dispute between the AER and the NSW electricity networks is still to be decided by the Federal Court.

Provided that the Victorian networks do not appeal the final determination, the next step will be for the networks to submit their calendar 2017 tariff proposals to the AER for its approval with this expected to take place in the last two months of this year. At that point, we will know precisely how the networks intend to recover their allowed revenue for 2017 across their different customer classes.

At the same time, the AER also handed down its final determination for the gas distribution networks of ActewAGL in the ACT and Australian Gas Networks (AGN) in South Australia. If not contested, this will see ActewAGL cutting its revenue by 21.18% and AGN by 23.4% with both cuts being in real dollars and to take effect from 1July 2016. These cuts to the allowed revenues for gas networks follow the trend for similar large cuts to electricity networks' revenues first tabled by the AER in late 2014.

Real % changes in average network revenues, current to next tariff year: