We have released our draft decision on APA Group’s revenue proposal for the Basslink interconnector for the 2026-30 regulatory control period.
As this is the first revenue determination following our final decision to convert Basslink to a regulated entity, we have determined an opening regulatory asset base (RAB) value of $720.5 million as of 1 July 2026, which is $32.3 million less than the $752.8 million opening RAB value proposed by Basslink.
Our proposed value was based on using alternative input values which we consider more accurately reflects Basslink’s depreciated actual cost following our detailed assessment of Basslink’s revised opening RAB proposal and methodology. We have also proposed asset lives which we have determined as reasonable.
Our draft decision on forecast revenue for Basslink for the 2026–30 period is $428.8 million ($nominal, smoothed) which is $14.0 million (or 3.2%) less than proposed by Basslink.
Our draft decision seeks to ensure consumers pay no more than necessary for prudent and efficient investment in the network that supports reliable and secure energy.
As part of this we have recommended reductions to Basslink’s forecast capital and operating expenditure. This includes a place holder for replacement expenditure of $81.9 million ($2024–25) and we encourage APA Group in its revised proposal to provide us with additional relevant supporting information for this expenditure.
Basslink’s proposal allocates 75% of regulated revenue to the Victoria region and 25% to Tasmanian region. We do not have a decision-making role in approving or rejecting a Transmission Network Service Provider’s revenue allocation within a region.
