On 1 July 2010, the AEMC gave notice under sections 102 and 103 of the National Electricity Law of the making of the final Rule determination and Rule for the Payments under Feed-in Schemes and Climate Change Funds Rule change request.  The Rule as Made is a more preferable Rule and sets out a new cost recovery mechanism in the pricing proposal process.  The new mechanism may be used by DNSPs to recover the payments they make under eligible jurisdictional schemes such as feed-in schemes and climate change funds. 

The Rule as Made differs from the Rule proposed by ETSA Utilities as the Rule as Made sets out how the cost recovery mechanism would be applied to any new eligible jurisdictional schemes that may be introduced in the future.  The Rule as Made also includes transitional provisions.

The Rule as Made maintains the intent of the draft Rule with amendments to clarify the application of the cost recovery mechanism to any jurisdictional schemes that are subsequently amended.  The provisions for the adjustment of over/under recovery amounts have also been clarified to ensure that accurate recovery of these amounts may be carried out.

Background

On 7 October 2009 the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) received a Rule change request from ETSA Utilities. The Rule change request proposes to introduce new provisions under Chapter 6 of the National Electricity Rules that would provide a mechanism for distribution network service providers (DNSPs) to recover payments made under photovoltaic feed-in schemes and climate change funds.  The new mechanism would allow DNSPs to recover payments made under these schemes through an explicit provision in DNSPs' pricing proposals. 

Following the initial receipt of the Rule change request, the AEMC identified some queries on which additional clarification was sought from the proponent. This additional information was received in December 2009, which will assist the AEMC in its consideration of the Rule change request.

On 14 January 2010, the AEMC gave notice under section 95 of the National Electricity Law (NEL) to commence consultation on the Rule change request. A Consultation Paper prepared by the staff of the AEMC was published to provide guidance to stakeholders in commenting on the Rule change request.  The first round of consultation closed on 12 February 2010 and nine submissions were received in total.

On 8 April 2010, the AEMC gave notice under section 99 of the NEL of the making of the draft Rule determination and draft Rule and inviting stakeholder comments. The second round of consultation closed on 21 May 2010 and seven submissions were received in total.