The F-factor scheme is a Victorian Government scheme that provides financial incentives to Victorian electricity distribution businesses to minimise the number of fire starts within their networks in high fire danger zones and times.
The AER has a limited role to give effect to the incentive payments or penalties by adjusting the distributors’ allowable revenue each year accordingly in accordance with the F-factor Order 2016. All other aspects of the scheme are set out by the Victorian government including the targets and incentive rates.
The AER received fire start reports from the distributors for the 2024–25 reporting period. These reports have been validated by Energy Safe Victoria (ESV).
Based on ESV’s validation of the reports, the AER has applied the f-factor revenue adjustment formula to determine incentive payments and penalties to Victorian distributors for the 2024–25 period in accordance with clause 9(4) of the F-factor scheme Order. These payments and penalties will take the form of adjustments to the distributors’ regulated revenues for regulatory year 2027–28.
For the 2024–25 reporting period, all DNSPs received penalties, ranging from a penalty of $-1,020,078 for AusNet Services to a penalty of $-17,286 for CitiPower.
Table 1: F-factor incentive payments/penalties 2016–25 by distributor
| Reporting year | AusNet Services | CitiPower | Jemena | Powercor | United Energy | Total (Victorian electricity distributors) |
| 2016-17 | $1,485,000 | $43,200 | $117,300 | $4,639,200 | $224,400 | $6,509,100 |
| 2017-18 | $316,200 | $36,300 | $112,800 | $995,100 | $5,100 | $1,465,500 |
| 2018-19 | $404,100 | $31,500 | $116,400 | $3,745,200 | $62,400 | $4,359,600 |
| 2019-20 | $303,000 | $-6,600 | $49,500 | $1,548,600 | $105,900 | $2,000,400 |
| 2020-21 | $1,193,700 | $9,300 | $43,200 | $2,479,800 | $174,900 | $3,900,900 |
| 2021-22 | $279,600 | $12,000 | $49,800 | $1,187,700 | $182,400 | $1,711,500 |
| 2022-23 | $320,808 | $9,798 | $31,524 | $1,771,266 | $57,516 | $2,190,912 |
| 2023-24 | -$26,358 | $330 | $21,432 | -$9,018 | -$153,816 | -$167,430 |
| 2024-25 | $-1,020,078 | $-17,286 | $-21,468 | $-461,838 | $-187,044 | $-1,707,714 |
| Total | $3,255,972 | $118,542 | $520,488 | $15,896,010 | $471,756 | $20,262,768 |
The distributors' 2024–25 fire start reports and ESV's validation reports are provided below.