The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today issued draft decisions on access arrangements proposed for the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline (CGP) and the Roma to Brisbane Pipeline (RBP).
In 1998 the Queensland Government passed legislation bringing the National Gas Code into effect in Queensland. In doing so, the Queensland Government made some derogations, removing the obligation on operators of four Queensland pipelines to submit reference tariffs to the ACCC for approval.
In the case of the RBP, there was some uncertainty about whether the derogation also exempted tariffs for expanded capacity (greater than 101 terra joules per day). There was a view that the ACCC would be restricted from assessing reference tariffs for capacity up to 101TJ/day, but beyond 101TJ/day, the ACCC would be able to determine reference tariffs following the normal Code process.
However, the ACCC has received legal advice that the wording of the derogation has the effect of preventing the ACCC from determining any reference tariffs for either of these pipelines until their revisions commencement dates.
The review dates are also determined in the derogations. For the RBP, the revisions commencement date is 29 July 2006, while for the CGP, the revisions commencement date is 1 May 2023.
As a result, in these draft decisions the ACCC was only able to assess the non-tariff elements of the proposed access arrangements and has proposed a number of amendments.
Amongst other things, these amendments are intended: to remove the potential for the service providers to change the non-tariff terms and conditions of access without consultation by changing the Standard Access Agreement; to ensure that prospective users should not be required to unnecessarily reveal any commercially sensitive information; to have the service providers seek the ACCC’s approval to include an extension as part of the covered pipeline; and to have any expansion of capacity beyond 175TJ/day and 101TJ/day respectively included as part of the covered pipeline subject to the Commission’s agreement.