The Australian gas industry has been deregulated. This required retailing functions
to be tightly 'ringfenced' from the ownership and operation
of gas distribution networks. The networks are subject to
open access which allows multiple retailers to compete for
customers in markets previously considered monopolies.
In November 1997, the State and Federal Governments signed
the Natural Gas Pipelines Third Party Access Agreement which
set out the terms and conditions, under which deregulation
was to occur.
Full retail contestability occured in Victoria in October
2002, in South Australia in July 2004 and in Queensland from 1 July 2007.
Full retail contestability does not impact Envestra other than the company deals with multiple retailers in each juristicition rather than just one as in the past.
The access tariffs (cost of transporting the gas) Envestra charges for each class of customer is determined by an Independent Pricing and Access Regulator in each State. The tariffs are linked to CPI and are set for a five year period but can be reviewed earlier if there is a significant change in circumstances affecting the return Envestra is allowed to earn on its assets. Envestra has dealings with the following pricing regulators
South Australia: Essential Services Commission of South Australia
Victoria: Essential Services Commission
Queensland: Queensland Competition Authority
The introduction of a National Regulator
is viewed by Envestra as a positive move as it is likely to
bring a more consistent and commercial approach to setting access tariffs.
Envestra
is concerned that the State-based Regulators have not yet reached an appropriate
balance between the interests of shareholders (the owners
of the assets) and consumers. The company continues to make
representations to Government on this matter.
Back
to TopChoose from the Access Arrangement PDF files
below. To read or print these Access Arrangement documents
you will require the Adobe Acrobat Reader V3.01.
South Australian Distribution Network
South Australian Access Arrangement (PDF 942 kb)
Access Arrangement Terms and Conditions (PDF 193 kb)
SA Network Overview Maps (PDF 416 kb)
Map of Gas Delivery Zones (.doc 186kb)
Postcodes for Gas Delivery Zones (.xls 53kb)
SA Tariff Zones by Postcode (PDF 17kb)
Queensland Distribution
Network
Access Arrangement (PDF 390 kb)
Map
of Network (Version 1 - MS Word .doc 5.72 Mb)
Map of Network (Version 2 - MS Word 534 kb)
Queensland Map of Regions (MS Powerpoint .ppt 128 kb)
Terms
and Conditions (PDF 365 kb)
Albury Distribution
Network
Map of Albury Distribution System (PDF 43 kb)
Access Arrangement for the Albury Distribution System Part A (PDF 112 kb)
Access Arrangement for the Albury Distribution System Part B (PDF 196 kb)
Terms and Conditions (PDF 152 kb)
Victorian Distribution
Network
Map
of Network (a) Melbourne and Gippsland (MS Word .doc 1.37
Mb)
Map
of Network (b) Northern Victoria (MS Word .doc 724 kb)
Access Arrangement for Victorian Distribution System PART A (PDF 108 kb)
Access Arrangement for Victorian Distribution System PART B (PDF 204 kb)
Terms and Conditions (PDF 152 kb)
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