New South Wales Consolidated Acts

NATIONAL GAS (NSW) LAW - SECT 112

112 Principles governing the making of particular determinations

(1) This section sets out principles that apply for the making of the following determinations (each a
"relevant determination" ) by the AER--

(a) a scheme pipeline determination under Part 1 Division 1;

(b) a scheme pipeline revocation determination under Part 2;

(c) a greenfields incentive determination under Part 3.

(2) In deciding whether to make a relevant determination, the AER must consider the effect of regulating the pipeline, to which the determination would apply, as a scheme pipeline or non-scheme pipeline on--

(a) the promotion of access to pipeline services; and

(b) the costs that are likely to be incurred by an efficient service provider; and

(c) the costs that are likely to be incurred by efficient users and efficient prospective users; and

(d) the likely costs of end users.

(3) In doing so the AER--

(a) must have regard to the national gas objective; and

(b) must have regard to--

(i) the form of regulation factors; and

(ii) for a greenfields incentive determination--the extent to which the form of regulation factors or competition to develop the pipeline (whether formal or informal) between 2 or more unrelated prospective service providers will, or is likely to, pose an effective constraint on the exercise of market power in respect of services provided by means of the pipeline for the period the determination is in operation; and

Example: Competition between prospective service providers could involve the service providers competing on the basis of--

(a) different pipeline routes; or

(b) an expansion of an existing pipeline and the development of a new pipeline.

(c) may have regard to any other matter it considers relevant, including, for example, any information it obtains in the course of performing its functions.

Example for paragraph (c): The AER may have regard to information contained in a report made by a mediator in relation to an access dispute

(4) For subsection (3)(b)(ii), prospective service providers are unrelated if the service providers--

(a) are not related bodies corporate of each other; and

(b) do not include a related body corporate of the applicant for the greenfields incentive determination.