AusNet will seek approval for funding to upgrade its distribution network over the next five years, to provide a more reliable and resilient energy network while keeping network costs down for its customers.
The proposal is part of its draft plans, which are approved by the Australian Energy Regulator every five years through the Electricity Distribution Price Review (EDPR) process.
Development of the draft has been informed by extensive engagement and input from customer panels, individual customers and other stakeholders, including insights gained through the largest ‘willingness to pay’ survey done for our network.
AusNet executive general manager distribution, Andrew Linnie said the initiatives and investment proposed in the EDPR are an important step to help enable our network to meet future needs.
“This investment will provide the funding to help us meet customer and community needs from a reliability, safety and affordability perspective,” Mr Linnie said.
“We have seen a significant increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events and it’s important we make the network more resilient to these occurrences. We also want to improve reliability for many of our regional customers.”
“At the same time, we know there are many customers grappling with cost-of-living pressures and so it’s important that we balance investing in the network for reliability and resilience, with keeping energy prices as affordable as possible. We would like feedback from our customers on whether we have struck the right balance.”
The draft plans also include funding for network upgrades to support customers shifting away from gas in their homes and purchasing electric vehicles, and for customer service improvements.
Funding will unlock more renewable energy exports and the number of customers able to benefit from solar PV.
Funding of $3.5 billion will be sought but prices for customers will be kept down.
Residential customers’ network charges will be kept flat (without inflation) while business customers will see a five per cent increase (without inflation) in network charges by 2031.
In addition, the AusNet metering charge for households and small businesses will fall by 50 per cent ($34) a year and customers who electrify will see further savings.
AusNet acknowledged that there are a range of complex issues that need to be considered in developing its five-year plan for the distribution network but believed that this proposal strikes the right balance.
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the development of the plan to date. I’ve been impressed with the valuable feedback we’ve been provided so far. I would encourage the community to provide feedback on the plan before it is submitted to the Australian Energy Regulator,” Mr Linnie said.
To view a copy of the draft EDPR proposal and provide your feedback visit communityhub.ausnetservices.com.au/engage.
