Protecting consumers and ensuring a safe and reliable energy system underpin the AER’s Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2025-26.
AER Chair Ms Clare Savage said the energy transition continues to present opportunities and challenges, making it vital that the AER’s compliance and enforcement activities support a market that is operating effectively and delivering for consumers.
In 2025-26, the AER’s compliance and enforcement efforts will focus on:
- Improving outcomes for consumers experiencing vulnerability, including by ensuring access to hardship protections and affordable payment plans that reflect capacity to pay, and improving retailer hardship policies.
- Protecting consumers during the universal transition to smart meters by focusing on compliance with smart meter rollout requirements, resultant tariff changes and ongoing metering practices.
- Supporting power system security and an efficient wholesale electricity market by focusing on compliance with network outage obligations, generator performance standards and availability obligations.
- Promoting competition and ensuring safe and reliable network infrastructure by improving compliance with network connection and ring-fencing obligations.
- Monitoring and enforcing compliance with reporting requirements under Part 10 of the National Gas Rules.
“We remain focussed on ensuring consumers are able to access critical hardship protections they are entitled to for their energy bills, including affordable payment plans. We will continue to work with energy retailers to improve their hardship policies to achieve better outcomes for consumers,” said Ms Savage.
With the upcoming commencement of the accelerated smart meter rollout, the AER will be prioritising work to ensure consumers are protected through the rollout.
“This year we will pay attention to energy retailers upholding consumer safeguards associated with smart meters, including new informed consent requirements for retail tariff changes,” she said.
The rollout of smart meters is crucial to the energy transition and it is important that all participants fully understand and comply with their responsibilities so the switch from legacy meters is timely, cost-effective, fair and safe.
In wholesale markets, the AER will be supporting power system security and an efficient electricity market by focusing on compliance with generator performance standards and the provision of timely and transparent information on plant availability and planned outages.
“We will proactively monitor participants to ensure they are meeting their obligations when disclosing required information to support the Australian Energy Market Operator’s management of power system security,” Ms Savage said
“This is critical for AEMO to operate the power system in a reliable and secure manner to keep the lights on.”
The increasing number and complexity of new connections in the National Electricity Market will also require new participants to be able to connect efficiently and safely. To ensure this can take place, the AER will be prioritising activities to promote competition and ensure safe and reliable network infrastructure.
“Our focus will be on ensuring that network service providers comply with their obligations to provide timely and transparent connections to the electricity grid to support cost reflective prices. This will help ensure a reliable and efficient electricity system.
“We also recognise the important role ring-fencing obligations play in protecting competition and will be closely monitoring compliance with our ring-fencing guidelines to benefit consumers,” said Ms Savage.
The AER will also monitor gas pipeline service providers, this year focusing on ensuring they are meeting their obligations under Part 10 of the National Gas Rules, which requires gas pipeline service providers to make information publicly available in a clear and transparent way.
In addition to these five priorities, the AER will continue to monitor all aspects of the energy market and work proactively to improve compliance and address harm including by taking enforcement action where appropriate, particularly in relation to serious issues impacting consumers experiencing vulnerability, life support consumers and consumers affected by family violence.
The AER will release its 2024-25 Compliance and Enforcement Annual Report in July, detailing the work completed under the last year’s priority areas.