How to level a playing field:

PIAC’s submission critiques the methodology being adopted by the AEMC for the conduct of this review and identifies the problems associated with the approach taken by the AEMC in that there is no definitive set of criteria or benchmarks to guide the AEMC in its analysis of whether there is effective competition in the energy market in the ACT. In the absence of definitive criteria to assess whether effective competition exists, individual market characteristics of the electricity market can be construed to support both a finding of effective competition, and a finding that there is not effective competition. The submission outlines a concern that for certain market characteristics, the Issues Paper appears to prefer a construction in support of the existence of effective competition, indicating a predisposition towards such a review outcome. The submission also refers to the possible impact of the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT) on pricing decisions of energy retailers, in the absence of price regulation.