AER - Eric Groom's response to the letter from Havyatt Associates - 13 August 2021

On 21 May 2021 the AER released a position paper on Rate of return and assessing the long term interests of consumers.

This paper sets out our views around what the National Electricity Objective (NEO) and National Gas Objectives (NGO) mean in the context of setting the expected rate of return. In particular, we discuss how the concept of the long term interests of consumers, mentioned in the NEO and NGO, features in setting the expected rate of return.

In forming our position, we took into account the views expressed on this topic by the Consumer Reference Group (CRG) and Energy Networks Australia (ENA).

This paper is another in a series of position and working papers on specific rate of return topics that we are publishing as part of our pathway to the 2022 Rate of Return Instrument.