SA Power Networks has lodged its 2015-2016 tariff submission, proposing a Network Social Tariff aimed at assisting up to 12,000 vulnerable customers on hardship programs with their retailer.
If approved by the AER, eligible hardship customers would receive an average reduction in 2015-16 of about $386 on the network component of their 2014-15 bill, compared with a reduction of about $188 for the typical residential customer.
SA Power Networks is also proposing to the Regulator a new Actual Demand Tariff for businesses and a Network Usage Tariff for residential customers with solar panels, reflecting the specific load they place on the network.
The new tariffs have been proposed as part of the transition to cost-reflective tariffs required by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to be in place by 1 July 2017.
They do not change the overall Regulator approved revenue to be collected by SA Power Networks.
“The good news is everyone will save money,” said SA Power Networks spokesman, Paul Roberts.
“We can accelerate the transition to cost-reflective tariffs being required by government and regulators and which have been supported by customers, while delivering significant network price reductions for South Australian residential and business customers in 2015-2016.
“The final outcome for each customer will depend on their individual circumstances and how retailers pass on the benefits of the reduction in network prices in 2015-2016,” he said.
“We foreshadowed our approach, including a social tariff and moving to more cost-reflective tariffs for small customers, when we lodged our submission with the AER last October. Since then, the AEMC has released a ruling confirming the transition to cost-reflective tariffs for small customers in 2017.”
