It was no surprise that the Productivity Commission (PC)
weighed in to the broader debate on Energy Network Regulation in
its Review of the se of Benchmarking and Interconnectors in the
Electricity Regulatory Regime.
While the PC's terms of reference were ostensibly narrow,
the PC's Draft Report, Electricity Network Regulatory
Frameworks, October 2012 (Draft Report 1 ) covers
all aspects of the regulatory framework. The PC reasoned that
"[t]here is, in effect, no point in simply fixing a punctured
tyre if the car has no engine". 2
The PC's review is just one of the many reviews in response
to what has been seen as steep price rises in network (particularly
electricity) tariffs. This update sets out our observations
regarding some of the key draft recommendations of the PC
3 and highlights where these recommendations overlap
with other reviews.
