ARTC Hunter Valley Access Undertaking 2010
On 7 September 2010, ARTC lodged a revised proposed access undertaking for the Hunter Valley Rail Network with the ACCC for assessment under section 44ZZA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. A link to the proposed undertaking and supporting documentation from ARTC is below.
On 23 June 2011, ARTC withdrew its Hunter Valley Rail Network Access Undertaking lodged on 7 September 2010. The letter from ARTC withdrawing the undertaking is below.
ARTC also submitted a new Hunter Valley access undertaking to the ACCC on 23 June 2011 for assessment under Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
Further clock-stopper (8 June 2011)
On 8 June 2011, the ACCC agreed, in accordance with section 44ZZBC(4) of the CCA, to ARTC’s request to disregard the period from 8 June 2011 to 28 June 2011 (inclusive) for the purposes of working out the expected period within which the ACCC must make a decision on the 2010 HVAU. This means that the statutory timeframe for decision-making is now extended to 30 June 2011.
Further submission from ARTC – 17 May 2011
ARTC provided the following documents to the ACCC on 17 May 2011. These documents contain some drafting refinements being suggested by ARTC in response to comments made by some parties on the drafting in the revised undertaking submitted by ARTC on 7 April 2011 (see further below).
The documents comprise proposed revisions to the HVAU and an explanation of those revisions.
The revisions relate to:
- consistency in System Assumptions (as between HVCCC and ARTC);
- Network Exit Capability and certainty of Coal Chain Capacity;
- the audit of the True-Up Test (TUT);
- the determination of the efficient train configuration;
- voting rights in the Rail Capacity Group (RCG) for uncontracted parties;
- the review of the HVAU after five years; and
- mutually exclusive access applications.
While not part of the undertaking itself, the explanatory document also notes that ARTC will provide advice to industry in the near future on transitional arrangements.
Consultation
ARTC has put forward these additional documents following discussions with representatives of a number of existing Hunter Valley export coal producers, and the ACCC welcomes this direct engagement between ARTC and stakeholders.
The ACCC also acknowledges that parties not involved in those discussions require an opportunity to comment on these suggested revisions.
Consequently, while the consultation period in relation to the April 2011 HVAU ended on 11 May 2011, the ACCC will continue to accept further submissions on the suggested revisions that ARTC has provided.
The ACCC encourages parties seeking to make a submission to do so as soon as possible. Further details on making a submission are set out in the ACCC’s Consultation Paper (see below).
A link to submissions received by the ACCC is included below.
‘Clock-stopper’ and informal submission of revised version of the HVAU – further ACCC consultation (13 April 2011)
ARTC informally submitted a revised version on 7 April 2011 of the 2010 Hunter Valley access undertaking that incorporated a number of recommendations from the ACCC’s Position Paper released on 21 December 2010. A link to the proposed undertaking and supporting documentation from ARTC is below.
On 13 April 2011, the ACCC agreed, in accordance with section 44ZZBC(4) of the CCA, to ARTC’s request to disregard the period from 13 April 2011 to 7 June 2011 (inclusive) for the purposes of working out the expected period within which the ACCC must make a decision on the 2010 HVAU.
The ACCC consulted on the revised HVAU from 13 April 2011 to 11 May 2011. The ACCC's Consultation Paper and submissions from stakeholders are available below.
Position Paper (21 December 2010)
The ACCC released a Position Paper on 21 December 2010, setting out its views on ARTC's Hunter Valley rail access undertaking. The Position Paper is available below.
ACCC consultation (16 September - 25 October 2010)
The ACCC consulted on the 2010 Hunter Valley access undertaking from 16 September 2010 to 25 October 2010. The original deadline for submissions was 11 October 2010. In response to several requests from interested parties for additional time to prepare submissions, the ACCC on 7 October 2010 extended the deadline to 25 October 2010.
The Consultation Paper and public submissions from interested parties in response to the Paper are below:
Public submissions on September/October 2010 Consultation
The ACCC has received the following public submissions in relation to the 2010 Hunter Valley access undertaking that was received on 7 September 2010:
Previous undertaking
ARTC first lodged an access undertaking application for the Hunter Valley Rail Network with the ACCC on 23 April 2009. Materials relating to that application, including submissions received during the public consultation processes and the ACCC’s Draft Decision, are available at the link below.