Information Sharing Protocol

The AER Ring-Fencing Guidelines¹ require that, where Evoenergy shares ring-fenced information with a Related Electricity Service Provider (RESP), Evoenergy is required to provide access to the ring-fenced information to other legal entities on an equal basis.

Information register

Evoenergy’s information register will publish all valid requests for ring-fenced information made by:

• RESP’s
• Other legal entities who provide contestable electricity services

The information register will be updated on a quarterly basis.

The information register contains:

• Information requests- which contains the details of each request for ring-fenced information including:
  the kind of information requested by the legal entity
  detailed description of the information requested.
• Listed legal entities – which contains a record of legal entities who have requested that they be included on the register.

Information access and disclosure

Information request form

Legal entities seeking to apply for access to information identified on the information register are required to complete and submit an Information request form. Submissions are to be made to Evoenergy via the postal or email address specified on the form.

On receipt of a request, Evoenergy will assess the request for disclosure of information and provide a response within 20 business days.

The response will detail:

• confirmation of whether the Information request is complete and valid under the AER Ring-fencing Guidelines¹
• the timeframe and communication mechanism for the provision of information.

Disclosure of information

The AER Ring-Fencing Guidelines prescribe that Evoenergy must not disclose ring-fenced information to any person, including a RESP, unless:

1. Evoenergy has first obtained the explicit informed consent of the relevant customer, or prospective customer, to whom the ring-fenced information relates;
2. the disclosure is required by, or for the purpose of complying with any law;
3. the disclosure is necessary to enable Evoenergy to provide its distribution services, its transmission services or its other services (including by acquiring services from other legal entities);
4. the information has been requested by or on behalf of a customer, or potential customer, of another legal entity, and the disclosure is necessary to enable the legal entity to provide its transmission services, contestable electricity services or other services to the customer or potential customer;
5. the disclosure is solely for the purpose of providing assistance to another Network Service Provider to the extent necessary to respond to an event (such as an emergency) that is beyond the other Network Service Provider’s reasonable control;
6. the disclosure is solely for the purposes of research by a legal entity other than a RESP;
7. where another Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP) is an affiliated entity of Evoenergy and the disclosure is to the part of that other DNSP that provides direct control services; or
8. a RESP has requested the disclosure and Evoenergy complies with clause 4.3.3 of the Ring-Fencing Guidelines in relation to that confidential information.

Note: When responding to an Information request from a legal entity, Evoenergy is not required to provide information to a legal entity where it has disclosed the information under conditions (a)-(e), as stated above.

Information register inclusion form

Legal entities can also request to be included on the information register with respect to all or specific kinds of information. If you wish to be included on the information register, please submit a Register inclusion form.

Evoenergy will provide a response within 20 business days.

The response will detail an assessment as to whether the request is complete and valid under the AER Ring-fencing Guidelines¹

Factors to consider when submitting an information request

Evoenergy is only required to disclose information to other legal entities under the following conditions.

• The information requested is both electricity information & ring-fenced information (see definitions below).
• Evoenergy has previously disclosed the information to a RESP under circumstances detailed in AER Ring-Fencing Guidelines.
• The legal entity submitting the information request has requested that it be included on the information register in respect of information of that kind.
• The legal entity submitting the information request is competing, or is seeking to compete, with the Evoenergy, or a RESP of the Evoenergy, in relation to the provision of contestable electricity services.

Useful definitions

Electricity information means information about electricity networks, electricity customers or electricity services, other than aggregated financial information or other service performance information that does not relate to an identifiable customer or class of customer. 

Ring-fenced information* is electricity information, acquired or generated by Evoenergy in connection with its provision of direct control services that is not already publicly available. This includes electricity information that the Evoenergy derives from that information or provided to Evoenergy by or in relation to a customer or prospective customer of direct control services. 

*Aggregated financial information, or other service performance information, that does not relate to an identifiable customer, or class of customer, is excluded from this definition. 
¹ AER Ring-Fencing Guideline Energy Distribution Version 3 (February 2022)