- completion of assessments for third party access to some of the State’s most significant gas infrastructure;
- completion of three inquiries for the State Government into urban and country water and wastewater pricing and the cost of supplying bulk water to Kalgoorlie-Boulder;
- completion of a review of the Railways (Access) Code 2000;
- issuing 39 licences for the new electricity licensing regime;
- lodging several submissions to national forums on proposed changes to the regulatory environment; and
- being awarded the Alan Skinner Trophy and a Gold Award in the WS Lonnie Awards for annual reports.
Executive Summary
The Economic Regulation Authority is an independent State Government agency responsible for administration of the State’s regulatory regimes for gas, electricity, rail and water. This includes regulating access (including prices) to rail track infrastructure, gas transmission and distribution pipelines, and electricity transmission and distribution networks. The Authority is also responsible for licensing and monitoring the performance of water, gas and electricity service providers.
The Authority may also be asked to undertake inquiries referred to it by Government on matters relating to regulated and non-regulated industries.
The Authority seeks to produce outcomes and recommendations that promote fair prices, quality services and choice in the long-term interests of consumers.
The Authority’s Governing Body which is responsible for regulatory decisions, consists of a full-time Chairman and two part-time members. The Authority is supported by a Secretariat of around 25 staff.
The Minister responsible for administrative matters of the Authority is the Hon Eric Ripper, MLA, Deputy Premier; Treasurer; Minister for Government Enterprises; Minister Assisting the Minister for Public Sector Management. In other respects, the Authority is independent of direction or control in performing its functions under the Economic Regulation Authority Act 2003 and relevant industry-specific legislation.
During the year the Authority achieved a number of significant outcomes, including:
These and other achievements, reported below, contribute towards fulfilling the Authority’s vision of leadership in best practice economic regulation for the benefit of all Western Australians.
The Authority also achieved considerable efficiency gains by locating all staff at the one address and by taking a common approach to regulation across the different industry sectors.
These achievements were supported by the results of the Authority’s first Customer Satisfaction Survey which confirmed the importance of the Authority’s role in regulation and showed encouraging levels of satisfaction with the Authority’s overall performance.
While the Authority’s total cost of services was $1.228 million below budget, these nevertheless represented an increase of $885,000 on the previous year. The increase in the cost of services mainly reflected an expansion of the Authority’s functions, particularly in electricity regulation and licensing.
Looking ahead to the 2006-07 financial year, the Authority will assume responsibility for a number of functions relating to the Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market scheduled to be introduced later this year. The Authority will continue its assessment process for third party access arrangements to Western Power’s electricity network in the South West Interconnected System and finalise technical rules for the network.
The Authority will also continue to pursue best practice economic regulation, contribute to the national regulatory debate and perform its inquiry function. The Customer Satisfaction Survey provided a solid foundation for the Authority but also identified several areas offering opportunities for continued improvement.