Recently, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) delivered a landmark report into electricity prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The investigation into the competitiveness of the retail electricity market within the NEM resulted in the ACCC handing down 56 recommendations to address higher prices.
The ACCC report looked closely at the drivers of high and sustained levels of delivered electricity prices, and outlined the following contributing factors:
The outcomes for large business consumers remains uncertain and depends on implementation and the desired impact on prices. For the more significant recommendations such as limiting generator market share or mandating off-take contracts, this will require much development to reach even the consultation stages and indeed, to implement the extended list of recommendations is a much longer term proposition.