The ACCC has decided to grant authorisation with conditions to enable Pilbara ISOCo Ltd and certain other participants to engage in conduct with the purpose of maintaining or improving the safety, security or reliability of the North West Interconnected System. The conduct comprises either the exchanging of information, planning or implementing a requirement relating to either system security measures, outage coordination or technical connection standards.
The ACCC considers that the conduct is likely to result in public benefits in the form of reduced likelihood of disruptions and associated costs to electricity customers in the North West Interconnected System, improved third-party access and reduced costs for certain customers from more efficient management. The ACCC also considers the potential for encouraging investment in decarbonisation projects in the Pilbara region and the associated environmental benefits is a public benefit.
The ACCC has granted authorisation with 6 conditions, which limit the scope of the proposed conduct and increase governance controls. The ACCC is satisfied in all the circumstances that, with the conditions, the proposed conduct would be likely to result in a public benefit that would outweigh the public detriment that would be likely to result from the proposed conduct.
The ACCC has decided to grant authorisation until 31 January 2028, being a shorter period than the 5 years sought by the applicants.
Further information on the final determination is available on the ACCC's public register: Pilbara ISOCo Ltd