The proposed bill offers a fit-for-purpose and tailored customer protections in Western Australia
The WA government has announced the introduction of the Electricity Industry Amendment (Alternative Electricity Services) Bill 2023 to parliament.
The bill aims to ensure that thousands of households and businesses on embedded networks pay a fair price and receive transparent information.
Electricity supply for embedded network customers, including apartment buildings, shopping centres, retirement villages and long-stay residential parks, is largely unregulated, and customers are missing out on standard customer protections. The proposed bill offers a comprehensive solution by establishing an Alternative Electricity Services (AES) registration framework.
Administered by the Economic Regulation Authority, this framework will allow fit-for-purpose and tailored customer protections. Under the framework, services can be prescribed as an AES by regulations, and providers of those services will need to register and comply with obligations contained in a single code of practice, the Alternative Electricity Services Code (AES Code). The AES Code will be supported by provisions for compliance and enforcement and a mechanism for resolving disputes between service providers and consumers.
Some initial services to be considered for regulation include electricity supply through embedded networks and solar power purchase arrangements. Customers can access many existing protections for traditional electricity customers, including access to the Energy and Water Ombudsman.
A recent Energy Policy WA survey has underscored this legislation's urgency. Forty-one per cent of households on embedded networks, equivalent to around 200 households, reported negative experiences. Some embedded network tenants have no access to the meter and end up paying whatever they are charged with no way of checking.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston emphasised the importance of this legislation in the larger context of the energy transition, "Embedded networks are an important technology, especially ones that are connected to microgrids, which support Western Australia's energy transition to net zero by 2050."
Johnston highlighted that residents of apartments and retirement villages often receive irregular bills or lack vital consumption information. The government expects the Alternative Electricity Services Bill to rectify these issues and provide robust protection to customers procuring electricity from non-licensed providers.
