Consumers win as tribunal caps SA Power Networks’ revenue
SA POWER Networks’ attempt to charge South Australians more for their electricity usage has failed, with the Australian Competition Tribunal throwing out its appeal.
MOST South Australian households will be $140 a year better off after the Australian Competition Tribunal threw out SA Power Networks’ attempt to increase its network revenue, the state’s peak welfare body says.
With wholesale power prices and retail costs rising, consumers are still feeling the impact of hefty electricity bills, but SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley says the decision is worth celebrating.
“Customers are in many cases still paying more and that’s one way of looking at it, but we should still be popping the champagne corks because we could be paying a lot more,” Mr Wommersley said.
“It’s a substantial win but one that’s hard for people to appreciate – it’s money they won’t have to spend but would have if SAPN had set the prices it wanted to.”
SA Power Networks argued it needed an extra $250 million in revenue than it had been granted by the Australian Energy Regulator – after the AER last year capped it at $3.84 billion, $690 million short of what it initially asked for.
AER chairwoman Paula Conboy said the 174-page judgment vindicated the regulator’s initial decision.
“The tribunal recognised that our decisions involve weighing up a range of differing expert theories and opinions and that our role is to consider all relevant information and use our judgment to arrive at an answer that best meets the long-term interests of consumers,” she said.
Ms Conboy said the decision would help to provide some predictability and stability to network distribution prices, which make about 38 per cent of SA Power Networks’ typical household bill.
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis heralded the decision as a “huge win” for SA households and businesses.
Mr Koutsantonis implored SAPN not to appeal the decision further.
“Let’s just get on with it. South Australians have suffered enough because of the monopoly ownership of our electricity assets,” he said.
“Bills went down last year by 10 per cent on the back of this determination. SAPN tried to appeal that, that appeal has been finalised today, that discount is now locked in.”
Opposition cost of living spokesman Corey Wingard said the decision was good news, but that any reduction would be “gobbled up” by high power generation costs.
“It’s giving in one hand and taking in the other,” he said.
SAPN said it would do a review of the “extensive, complex and highly technical judgment” before deciding if it would take any further action.