COAG Consultation Regulation Impact Statement – Australian Energy Market Commission
On 17 December 2020, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) released the draft rule determination and rule titled National Energy Retail Amendment (Bill Contents and Billing Requirements) Rule 2021.
The draft rule proposes to create obligations on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to create mandatory guidelines on bill contents for electricity and gas retailers to follow when issuing bills to small customers, which may also extend to billing frequency.
The draft rule would require the mandatory guidelines for bill contents to be issued by the AER by 1 April 2022 and to be implemented by electricity and gas retailers by 4 August 2022.
The AEMC believes that the draft rule will better contribute to the achievement of the National Electricity Retail Objective (NERO) as it includes principles that will better promote competition and enable innovation, provide greater transparency on the guideline development process, and lead to a proportionate and least cost outcome for consumers.
The National Energy Retail Amendment (Bill contents and billing requirements) Rule 2021 has been assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation as compliant with requirements for a Council of Australian Governments Consultation RIS.
Please note: any accessibility queries should be directed to the Australian Energy Market Commission