Improved transparency just one piece of the puzzle.

This submission responds to a rule change proposal from the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council. The proposed change was to enhance information provision to the Natural Gas Services Bulletin Board (the Bulletin Board). The Bulletin Board was developed to enhance trading of gas pipeline capacity across the east coast of Australia. Operators of pipelines, storage facilities and production facilities must provide information on nameplate capacity ratings, capacity outlooks and the amount of gas produced and delivered to the Bulletin Board. The rule change proposed to increase the reporting requirements participants of the Bulletin Board are required to provide to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), to improve transparency of prices, reduce costs associated with searching for spare capacity or secondary capacity and to improve entry for third parties. In addition, the proposed changes would improve AEMO’s capacity to monitor and provide operational functions for the east coast gas market. PIAC’s submission made a number of recommendations to seek clarity of how these changes will benefit the long-term interests of consumers. PIAC’s recommendations include : that the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) model potential benefits from an 18-month forward outlook rather than the proposed 12-month; that all rules relevant to the gas market be reviewed after the completion of the east coast gas market reviews occurring in parallel; that the AMEC model any benefits that may arise from listing shippers by spare capacity rather than total capacity. PIAC generally supported the proposed rule change, as any moves to improve transparency and operation of the Bulletin Board should have a flow on affect to benefit consumers.