Notified Electricity Prices 2008-09
Final Decision
Since the introduction of full retail competition (FRC), small electricity consumers have been able to purchase electricity from a retailer of their choice or remain on a regulated (notified) tariff. To ensure that regulated tariffs keep pace with the costs of producing, transporting and retailing electricity, the Queensland Competition Authority is required to estimate the increase in these costs annually and to apply that increase to the existing regulated tariffs.
The Authority issued a draft report on 7 February 2008 in which it estimated the increase in costs to be 7.01% between 2007-08 and 2008-09. A number of changes occurred subsequently. First, comments were received from interested parties, which the Authority has addressed. Second, the Government removed an earlier direction about how the Authority must calculate network costs. This reduced the increase in costs by 1.4 percentage points. Finally, there have been changes in costs, particularly energy costs, as a result of more recent and updated information and the refinement of the method of calculating the increase in costs.
Taking all these factors to account, the Authority now estimates the change in the delivered cost of electricity between 2007-08 and 2008-09 to be 5.38%. Consequently, electricity prices for consumers on notified tariffs will increase by 5.38% from 1 July 2008.
This change is made up of an increase in energy costs of 5.5% (accounting for 44% of the total change), an increase in the transmission and distribution costs of 5.7% (accounting for 50% of the total change) and an increase in retail costs of 3.5% (which accounts for only 6% of the total change).
Notice of the revised tariffs was published in the Queensland Government Gazette released on 30 May 2008. A copy of the Gazette notice can be down loaded below.
A supplementary report prepared for the Authority by CRA International can also downloaded below.
Interim Reports/Papers
