Maddocks Report for Federal Government - Relevance for Electricity Supply and Infrastructure

On Friday, 20 January 2012, the federal government released a report prepared by Maddocks for the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.

The report – "The Role of Regulation in Facilitating or Constraining Adaptation to Climate Change for Australian Infrastructure" – examines the regulatory frameworks affecting some of Australia's most important infrastructure and associated services to determine the extent to which these frameworks facilitate effective adaptation.

The report identifies the different types of regulatory tools available to decision-makers and regulators in managing advantages and disadvantages of these tools and identifies the appropriate circumstances for their use.

The report also sets out principles that should be adopted in designing and implementing regulation for climate change adaptation and makes recommendations for the appropriate roles for different levels of government.

The report includes an examination of the regulatory framework affecting the supply of electricity in Australia to determine whether it is capable of addressing the spectrum and scale of climate change risks that are likely to materialise in the future for the supply of electricity and electricity infrastructure. 

The report notes features associated with the regulatory framework for the supply of electricity that could facilitate adaptation to climate change, including there is a range of sources of information that are specifically provided for under the regulatory framework that may be useful to predict and address supply constraints that could arise as a result of climate change.

However, the report also notes aspects of the regulatory framework for the supply of electricity that could hinder adaptation to climate change, including the regulatory objectives underlying the framework focus on efficiency, security and reliability of supply, which may limit the extent to which climate change can be taken into account in the context of decisions made under the framework relating to network investment and demand management.

The report has been described by the federal government as "a useful resource for planners and regulators, as well as local and state government decision makers".  The government has also indicated that the report will supplement work being undertaken by the Productivity Commission in its current inquiry into regulatory and policy barriers to climate change adaptation.

Click here to access the report.

If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact:

Robert Gregory | Partner
Direct 61 3 9240 0770
robert.gregory@maddocks.com.au

Dariel De Sousa | Consultant
Direct 61 3 9288 0552
dariel.desousa@maddocks.com.au

John Thwaites | Consultant
Direct 61 3 8615 0380
john.thwaites@maddocks.com.au