Transitional Period Guide and Summary of Amended Provisions
On 16 February 2022, the Essential Services Commission of Victoria (ESC) amended its Compliance and Performance Reporting Guidelines (the ‘Guideline’). The amendments are contained in version 7 of the Guidelines.
This guideline applies to all licensed Victorian electricity and gas retailers as a statutory condition of licence under section 23A of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic) (EIA) and section 33 of the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic) (GIA). This guideline also applies to all licensed Victorian electricity and gas distributors as a condition of licence.
The Guideline took effect on 16 February 2022. Compliance indicator and performance indicator reporting obligations take effect from 1 July 2022. This performance reporting requirement will take effect from 1 March 2022, with data for the first reporting period required to be submitted to the commission by the end of March 2022.
A transitional period applies between 1 March and 1 July 2022 where version 6 or version 7 of the reporting guideline may be used as reporting entities transfer and update their systems. From 1 July 2022 onwards, version 7 of the reporting guideline applies.
Transitional Period Guide:
| Scenario | Applicable Time Frame | Notes |
| A breach is reportable only under version 7 (and was not reportable under version 6). | Timeframes under version 7 apply. | Retailers may choose not to report these types of breaches until 1 July 2022. |
| A breach is reportable only under version 6 (not reportable under version 7). | No longer required to be reported. | |
| A breach is reportable under both versions 6 and 7: | A licensee may choose the timeframe that is most generous to the licensee. | |
| The obligation was type 2 under version 6, but is now type 1 under version 7. | A licensee may choose to report as a type 2 under version 6 until 30 June 2022. | |
| The obligation was type 1 under version 6 but is now type 2 under version 7. | A licensee may choose to report as a type 2 under version 7. | |
| Breach reporting using pre-1 March 2022 clause references and numbering. | This is acceptable until 1 July 2022. |
Summary of Amended Provisions:
- Updating breach reporting classifications and timing requirements.
- Updating clause references to reflect the Energy Retail Code becoming a code of practice under Part 6 of the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 and updating clause references to reflect amendments to the Electricity Distribution Code and Gas Distribution System Code as a consequence of the Energy Legislation Amendment (Energy Fairness) Act 2001
- Updating some performance measures to clarify the definitions.
- Added performance measures for best offer and arrears indicators for customers no receiving assistance.
- Updated unplanned outage reporting for distributors to require the data be included in the reporting period when the outage started.
- Updating the ‘type’ categories for compliance breach reporting, and adding in unplanned outage and voltage performance reporting requirements.
- Updating the compliance reporting templates for administrative changes.
The full document: ESC – Compliance and Performance Reporting Guidelines Version 7, can be found here.
