Australia’s transmission task needs a new approach – let’s open it up to competition

In particular, the AEMC determined that TNSPs recovering their costs as incurred rather than as commissioned would mean that consumers were paying for transmission lines before they received the benefits of that new line in access to lower priced electricity.

As PIAC identified, the rule change would increase intergenerational inequities, with today’s customers paying for the benefits that only future customers will receive.

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PIAC also highlights that “where potential financeability issues might threaten the viability of actionable Integrated System Plan (ISP) projects, these should be managed firstly by making the investments more contestable,” rather than placing additional cost and risk burdens on consumers.