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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3453 ..

6.

Licensing of new retailers in the ACT, however, represents a significant departure from the approach taken elsewhere in Australia. Such retailers will be licensed on application if they are already licensed in NSW.

This approach will drastically simplify the regulatory scheme. It makes a very clear statement that the ACT is doing what it can to avoid barriers to entry of new players. It keeps costs down for Governments and business. It is consistent with the ACCC's recent comments on the possible barriers to entry represented to inconsistent licensing regimes.

Because NSW licences are only granted on the basis of tough prudential requirements and a statutory consultation process, ACT customers can have confidence in the viability of the new retailers. Members should also note that all the principal electricity retailers in Australia currently hold NSW licences.

And who are these new retailers likely to be? They include retailers that are household words in electricity in other parts of Australia - retailers such as ETSA from South Australia, Integral Energy from western Sydney and Citipower from central Melbourne. They also include retailers who have no "tied" electricity customers anywhere in Australia such as Boral Energy and AGL. They include private sector electricity businesses and those owned by State Governments.

Consistent with NSW, the Bill provides for a scheme of conditions on retailer licences. There are certain conditions that must be imposed on licences.

The Bill provides that the ACT will impose the conditions, not NSW, even though we envisage that the types of conditions will be very similar to those now in force in NSW.

I would like to highlight the environmental conditions that the Bill imposes on ACT retail licence holders:

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