Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme: Reporting requirements consultation

Status

Current status is Final

Final

One of the Commission’s functions within both the electricity and gas industries is to administer the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS). The scheme was established by the Government of South Australia and commenced on 1 January 2021. 

The Commission has publicly consulted on the reporting requirements that will apply to energy retailers to enable the Commission to:

• determine REPS obliged retailers and apportion the REPS targets, and
• fulfil the requirements the Minister has specified for the annual REPS report.

The Minister for Energy and Mining (Minister) has set REPS obligation thresholds and targets, as well as the methodology by which REPS annual targets are apportioned amongst obliged retailers for the years 2021 to 2025. The Commission is responsible for determining which retailers are ‘obliged’ under REPS and for the apportionment of targets in accordance with the prescribed methodology.

After consultation with stakeholders, the Commission has made a final decision to reduce reporting requirements on retailers for the purposes of determining REPS obligations. This change removes the previous requirement under REES for energy retailers to report on energy sales and customer numbers. 

The Commission is also responsible for producing an annual REPS report in accordance with Regulation 29 of the Electricity (General) Regulations 2012 and Regulation 23 of the Gas Regulations 2012 (Regulations). Under those Regulations the Minister may prescribe specific content requirements for that report.

The Minister requires the REPS Annual Report to include information on the costs of each type of activity being delivered. Individual costs for a majority of eligible REPS activities must also be reported - whether or not a majority of those activities are being delivered by the obliged retailers. The Minister also requires the Annual Report to cover, where possible, competition in activity delivery and any identified barriers to competition and the delivery of eligible activities.

Having considered the specific content requirements specified by the Minister for the REPS annual report, the following information will be collected from each obliged retailer for a minimum of 15 energy productivity activities in total (delivered and not delivered) for:

• all activities delivered: average direct, overhead and total delivery costs (excluding GST) by activity and/or target, provider and customer type, and
• activities not delivered: estimates of average direct, overhead and total delivery costs (excluding GST) by activity and/or target, source of estimate, provider (if applicable), and customer type. 

The Minister also requires the Annual Report to cover, where possible, competition in activity delivery and any identified barriers to competition and the delivery of eligible activities. To gather further evidence on competition in activity delivery and any identified barriers to competition and the delivery of eligible activities, each obliged retailer will report on the process by which energy productivity activity providers are selected. 

Reporting will be by calendar year with returns to be provided no later than 31 January following the relevant calendar year. The new reporting requirements will come into effect immediately.