The NGL imposes general duties and specific requirements on providers of covered transmission and distribution pipeline services. These obligations require that the service provider be a separate legal entity, must comply with certain obligations in relation to the provision of third party access and more broadly structural and operational separation of marketing staff among other matters.
The annual compliance process is a mechanism to report compliance with these duties and specific requirements. This arrangement replaces the former ring fencing reporting process undertaken by the ACCC for transmission services providers and by various state and territory regulators for distribution service providers.
Annual Compliance Order
The Annual Compliance Order is the mechanism to obtain information from service providers about their compliance with certain obligations under the NGL and NGR. The final Annual Compliance Order which was approved by the AER on 7 November 2008 in its Final Decision to make an Annual Compliance Order is attached below.
The Annual Compliance Guideline is to assist service providers in understanding the annual compliance process and how they need to comply with the Annual Compliance Order. The final Annual Compliance Guidelineis attached below.
Parties provided with the final decision and annual compliance order
The AER has provided the Final Decision and Annual Compliance Order to the following identified service providers of covered transmission and distribution pipelines. Under the NGL the definition of a service provider includes controllers, owners and operators. As a result all service providers of a pipeline may include other entities not listed below. The Final Decision was also provided to interested parties who made a submission in the annual compliance consultation process as parties involved in the administrative process.
Covered pipeline
Service providers that have been provided with the Final Decision and Annual Compliance Order
