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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (25 September) . . Page.. 3454 ..

7.

. a requirement for the retailers to develop strategies to reduce greenhouse emissions

. a requirement to audit the effectiveness of these strategies;

. a requirement to develop plans on energy efficiency and demand management and strategies for buying energy from sustainable sources.

Mr Speaker, in deciding to take the same path as NSW on environmental licence conditions, the Government was fully conscious that the right balance must be struck between the benefits that can be achieved by explicit regulation and the benefits that we expect to flow from market competition. We also need to ensure that conditions are not implemented in such a way as to impose entry costs to interstate retailers operating in the ACT that will cause them not to apply for licences or maintain their licences.

That is why we intend that implementation of the mandatory conditions will follow the same path as NSW - following proper consultation with relevant parties. The experience of NSW will be invaluable.

A further key feature of the Bill is the replacement of the current arrangements under which customers are supplied under ACTEW's Standard Conditions of Supply or under negotiated arrangements with the company.

The Bill brings forward a framework of customer contracts - with a clear separation between connection contracts and retail supply contracts.

There will be standard form customer connection contracts developed by the distributor to cover general connection arrangements.

There will be "standard form" contracts and "negotiated" contracts.

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