The Essential Services Commission (ESC) is proposing a number of changes to the way energy retailers and distribution businesses self-report contraventions of the Victorian energy laws and regulations.

As a condition of their license, entities which operate in the Victorian energy market, such as energy retailers and distributors, must comply with all relevant legislation, codes and guidelines. Regulated energy businesses are required to know all applicable obligations, have effective systems and processes in place to enable compliance, self-monitor and report contraventions to the ESC. The self-reporting framework in Victoria allows the ESC to identify potential compliance issues and trends that could impact consumer confidence and the integrity of the market.

The Compliance and Performance Reporting Guideline (CPRG) sets out the reporting obligations for energy retailers and distribution businesses, including the administrative requirements, classification of breach types as Type 1, 2 or 3, and the frequency of reporting. The CPRG also contains performance indicator reporting requirements which must be submitted on a quarterly basis to the ESC.

The ESC proposes nine key changes to the guideline that will incorporate recent regulatory reforms to the Energy Retail Code as well as a raft of other legislative changes. AGL supports the ESC’s approach to updating the CPRG with respect to:

• Aligning the timing of submission for Type 1 breach reports with requirements under the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF) which will assist regulated entities to streamline their compliance reporting process.
• Reclassifying a number of breaches to more closely align with the potential risk of consumer harm caused if the regulation or law is contravened.
• Removing ‘Type 3’ as a category of reportable breaches from the CPRG which are mostly administrative or recordkeeping obligations.

We suggest further amendments to some of the ESC’s draft decisions in the paper which we believe will reduce duplication in the wrongful disconnection reporting process and better harmonise the Victorian self-reporting requirements to the NECF framework.

Read the full submission here.