ACCC considers electricity works civil contractors accreditation scheme in public interest

A proposal for Victoria's electricity distributors to implement a common accreditation scheme for civil-works contractors will produce public benefits, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has decided.

As a result, the ACCC will grant authorisation, which provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.

Victoria's electricity distribution businesses will require contractors doing network-related infrastructure work to be accredited to Australian and international standards and have key staff TAFE-trained.

The accreditation proposal has been developed to address concerns that when customers independently commission electricity works, works are not always carried out to an appropriate level of safety and quality to be connected to the distribution network.

The ACCC's decision to authorise the arrangements affirms its draft decision issued last month.

"The ACCC considers the proposed scheme will cut the cost and time of ensuring work done by civil contractors is good enough to be connected to Victoria's electricity networks," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said.

Any contractor that meets the accreditation criteria will be eligible for accreditation and the distribution businesses plan to continue to accept work undertaken by non-accredited civil contractors, provided the work meets required standards.

However, work undertaken by non-accredited civil contractors will be subject to stricter auditing requirements before being connected to the network.

The ACCC has authorised the accreditation scheme for five years. The determination will be available from the ACCC website by following the Public registers and Authorisations and notifications registers links.