24 Aug 2022
Consultation is now open on Evoenergy’s draft plan for the 2024–29 electricity network regulatory determination, before the plan is submitted to the Australian Energy Regulator in January.
The draft plan released today has been informed by engagement with the community over the past year, and proposes new investment in our electricity network and new electricity network tariffs that reflect the changing consumer needs and expectations in how Canberrans generate, use and store electricity.
Evoenergy General Manager Peter Billing says although Evoenergy has decades of experience in network planning, developing the electricity network plan for the coming five-year period has come at a time of rapid and significant change.
“We’re committed to delivering the services we have heard our customers want and need as we work with the community to achieve net zero emissions by 2045, and we know network planning in the short, medium and long term is going to be critical to achieve this target,” said Mr Billing.
“Today we’ve released our draft plan for how we invest in and operate the electricity network in 2024–29. Our focus is to ensure we are ready for the changing needs of our growing city through new electricity network investment that establishes a solid foundation for the ongoing energy transition, whilst also keeping costs as low as possible.”
“In coming years, there’s going to be more solar, electric vehicles, batteries, and increasing demand for electricity, which must be all underpinned by a strong distribution network.”
“We forecast that there will need to be an increase in the network costs that will be passed onto electricity consumers during the period, resulting in an increase of around $19 per year (plus the impacts of inflation) for an average residential energy user.”
Evoenergy is in the process of an in-depth engagement program to engage with a broad range of consumers to understand their values and what they want and need from the electricity network.
“Through our engagement with the community, we’ve heard that while reliability continues to be the priority, our customers also want us to contribute to climate change action, and provide timely and accurate information about our network—all at the lowest possible cost. We need to respond by investing in the network in a way that balances increased cost for consumers, and prepares for the future,” said Mr Billing.
“This feedback, together with recent announcements by the ACT Government about zero emissions vehicles and electrification, will further inform our final proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator in January 2023.”
“We hope the community continues to engage with us on this important topic and we look forward to receiving feedback on the draft plan.”
Consultation on Evoenergy’s draft plan for the 2024–29 electricity network regulatory determination will be open for five weeks until 30 September 2022. Evoenergy will be hosting online information sessions and speaking at local community councils and encourages everyone to attend and have their say.
For more information or to provide feedback on the draft plan visit www.engagewithenergy.com.au.
Background
Every five years, Evoenergy is required to submit to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) how much it plans to spend operating, maintaining and investing in the electricity network and how these costs should be recovered from electricity consumers. Evoenergy’s proposal for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2029 will be submitted to the AER in January 2023. The AER will review Evoenergy’s proposal and release a draft decision in September 2023. Evoenergy will then submit a revised proposal in December 2023 which will be followed by a final decision from the AER in April 2024.
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