On 5 August 2020, the ACCC issued a draft determination proposing to grant conditional authorisation to enable the Australian Energy Council (AEC), its members and other participating retailers of gas or electricity to share information, discuss and in due course enter into and/or give effect to any contract, arrangement or understanding between them, or engage in any conduct, which has the purpose of providing financial and/or other relief to retail energy customers facing financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including residential customers and business customers of any size.
The ACCC may grant authorisation which provides businesses with legal protection for arrangements that may otherwise risk breaching competition law but are not harmful to competition and/or are likely to result in overall public benefits. The ACCC considers that maintaining competition in the long term will be critical to benefit both consumers and the economy. The ACCC considers that the proposed conduct is likely to deliver public benefit by providing a mechanism to allow energy retailers to collaborate and, if needed, develop customer support initiatives.
The ACCC proposes to grant conditional authorisation until 30 June 2021. The conditions provide for the notification of new participants, meetings between participants, regular reporting and the termination of any arrangements at the expiration of the authorisation period.
The ACCC is now seeking submissions in response to the draft determination by 20 August 2020. Submissions should be emailed to adjudication@accc.gov.au.
Further information about the ACCC’s decision is available on the ACCC public register at: Australian Energy Council Limited.