The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has released its final access arrangement decision that will apply to the Amadeus Gas Pipeline for the 2026–31 period.
The Amadeus Gas Pipeline plays a major role in energy supply in the Northern Territory, transporting natural gas to Darwin, Alice Springs and regional centres, principally for power generation. It is owned and operated by APT Pipelines (Northern Territory) Pty Limited (APTNT), a subsidiary of APA Group.
Every five years, gas transmission networks, including the Amadeus Gas Pipeline, are required to submit access arrangement proposals to the AER outlining the services the services they will provide, the tariffs for those services, and the other terms and conditions on which they will be provided.
Our final decision allows APTNT to recover $150.7 million revenue from its gas consumers from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2031.
This is $24.0 million (in real terms) (20.7%) more than the current period, driven by higher operating expenditure requirements and movements outside APTNT’s control including higher interest rates.
It is also an increase of $1.5 million (1.0%) compared with APTNT’s revised proposal, driven by a higher rate of return in the final decision than the placeholder that was included in the revised proposal.
Our final decision accepts APTNTs revised proposal to not apply the Capital Expenditure Sharing Scheme (CESS) to the Amadeus Gas Pipeline for the 2026-31 period, noting that APTNT had not initially proposed applying the CESS for the 2026-31 period.
Our final decision also accepts APTNT’s proposed changes to its gas specifications, and acknowledges the revisions made in relation to stakeholder feedback on these at the draft decision.
We note that APTNT sought to engage genuinely with stakeholders through its initial and revised proposals and undertook targeted discussions on outstanding issues.
Today’s decision will come into effect from 1 July 2026.