Page 3229 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 18 October 2022

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(b) Victorian Government’s announcement in July 2022 to ban new embedded networks;

(3) acknowledges the:

(a) ACT Government’s achievement of 100 percent renewable electricity in the ACT; and

(b) success of the ACT Government’s energy policies in keeping the ACT’s regulated retail electricity prices below the national average despite an unstable national and global energy market;

(4) calls on the ACT Government to conduct a review of embedded networks in the ACT, with regard as to whether the following reforms are appropriate:

(a) a ban on new embedded networks (exempting buildings that use renewable energy microgrids to deliver low-cost renewable energy to apartment blocks);

(b) further regulation of embedded network providers; and

(5) requests that the ACT Government report back to the Assembly on this matter by 30 June 2023.

I rise today to call on the ACT government to conduct a review of embedded networks. For the benefit of members and those observing that might not be immediately across the detail of embedded networks, let me provide a brief explanation. Embedded networks are private utility networks that serve multiple premises in a building or self-contained site. They are mostly used to supply electricity to consumers in developments such as apartment blocks, retirement villages, social housing and caravan parks. Other utilities, such as wi-fi or hot water, can also be provided through an embedded network system. Instead of each individual consumer having a contract with a retailer, the building has one contract and the utility is then onsold by the building to the tenants.

Embedded networks first emerged in the ACT following the passage of the Utilities Legislation Amendment Act 2017. This legislation aimed to give individual tenants access to discounted utility rates that were usually only available to big users, by utilising embedded networks. In theory, levelling the playing field between big users and everyday Canberrans sounds like a great idea. Who would not want to jump at the opportunity to access cheaper electricity, wi-fi or hot water?

For those in our community who are slugged with bills, maybe moving into an apartment complex with an embedded network would sound like a reliable solution to reduce costs. The amendment act had these good intentions at its heart, but unfortunately some members of the community are having experiences that do not align with the stated purpose of the legislation. Members of the community have reached out to me and shared that, for them, embedded networks have not resulted in discounted utility prices. Instead, they have locked them into a contract which generates bills that are more expensive than other market offerings and without the consumer protections that exist in the wider market. This problem is of course worse for renters, who do not have direct access to the decision-making of their strata organisation, unlike owner-occupiers, who have more freedom to advocate for change.

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