ALMONDCO AUSTRALIA LIMITED ABN 81 062 887 352 STURT HIGHWAY, PO BOX 1744, RENMARK, SA, 5341 TELEPHONE 08 8586 8800 FACSIMILE 08 8595 1559 EMAIL: admin@almondco.com.au

22nd June 2015

Mr Sebastian Roberts

General Manager, Network Regulation

Australian Energy Regulator

GPO Box 520

Melbourne Vic 3001

Dear Sebastian,

We are writing to you today in support of the AER’s original determination in regards to the five year Reglatory Proposal submission by SA Power Networks.

As a reasonably large electricity consumer within South Australia our business is concerned that the finance and assumption model that SAPN initially used to calculate their future business requirements was bullish to the extreme and the reality is that they will not actually spend to the levels they indicate, thus effectively banking the variation. Some of the cost increases suggested in the original submission are not remotely consistent with the economic environment that businesses currently operate within.

We applaud the AER for their insight when making the original determination on their regulatory submission and now trust that any appeal by SAPN to reinstate expenditure back to higher levels is highly scrutinized.

We acknowledge that SAPN, as with any other business, must get a fair return for the investments that it makes but believe that anything above ‘fair’ is taking advantage of the monopolistic environment that it operates within.

Yours Faithfully

Brenton Paige

Group Operations Manager

Almondco Australia Limited