The National Gas Law requires the ERA to produce a gas rate of return instrument. The gas instrument sets out the methods the ERA will use to estimate the allowed rate of return and value of imputation credits for gas transmission and distribution service providers. These regulated gas pipelines are the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, the Goldfields Gas Pipeline and the Mid-West and South-West Gas Distribution Systems.
The ERA will review the current gas instrument and replace it with the 2026 Gas Instrument. This provides an opportunity to undertake a comprehensive review of approaches for determining the allowed rate of return on capital.
As part of the consultation process for the 2026 gas instrument review, the ERA will use an Independent Panel to review its draft gas instrument. The Independent Panel will review the draft gas rate of return instrument to ensure that the ERA’s approach is supported by sound reasoning and can achieve the National Gas Objective.
As soon as practicable after the ERA publishes the draft instrument the Independent Panel will give the ERA a written report about the instrument.
The members of the Independent Panel are:
Dr John Hamill
Dr Hamill is the Managing Director of Chronotope Consulting and former Chief Executive Officer of the Essential Services Commission of Victoria. Prior to this, he was General Manager – Regulation at the New Zealand Commerce Commission, leading economic regulatory reforms across multiple sectors.
Dr Hamill has also served on advisory bodies including the Australian Energy Regulator’s Transformation Advisory Commission and Australian Financial Security Authority’s Regulatory Committee. He holds a PhD, MA and BA (Hons I), and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Ms Katherine Low
Ms Lowe is a Director at AXIOM Economics with over 20 years experience advising on regulatory, pricing and competition issues across regulated industries.
She has expertise in the gas and electricity sectors, including regulatory frameworks and infrastructure access. She previously worked at NERA Economic Consulting and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and holds a Master of Economics and Applied Finance and a Bachelor of Business.
Mr Chris Alexander
Mr Alexander is a Senior Consultant at The Shape Agency and a member of the Western Australian Expert Consumer Panel for Energy Policy WA, providing consumer advice on regulatory and market processes.
He has around 15 years experience in energy policy and regulation across Australia and the UK and previously held roles at Energy Consumers Australia and the Energy Security Board.