Bills and explanatory notes from legislation.qld.gov.au; explanatory and second reading speeches from the Queensland Parliament Record of Proceedings. Links open the official source in a new tab.
This Law may be referred to as the National Electricity (Queensland) Law.
2AMeaning of access dispute
An access dispute is—
(a)
a dispute between a network service user (or prospective network service user) and a network service provider about an aspect of access to an electricity network service specified by the Rules to be an aspect to which Part 10 applies; or
(b)
without limiting paragraph (a)—a dispute between a retail customer (or other person specified by the Rules) and a regulated distribution system operator about an aspect of access to a connection service specified by the Rules to be an aspect to which Part 10 applies.
2AAMeaning of civil penalty provision and conduct provision
(1)
A civil penalty provision is—
(a)
a provision of this Law specified in the Table at the foot of this subsection; or
(ba)
a reliability obligation civil penalty provision; or
(c)
a provision of this Law (other than an offence provision) or the Rules that is prescribed by the Regulations to be a civil penalty provision.
Table
Provision
Section heading
Section 11(1), (2), (3) and (4)
Electricity market activities in this jurisdiction
Section 14A
Regulated transmission system operator must comply with transmission determination
Section 14B
Regulated distribution system operator must comply with distribution determination
Section 14P(1) and (3)
Obligation to report net contract position
Section 18ZC(1) and (2)
Obligation of regulated entities to keep records
Section 18ZD
Obligation of regulated entities to provide information and data about compliance
Section 18ZF(1) and (3)
Compliance audits by regulated entities
Section 28N
Compliance with regulatory information notice that is served
Section 28O
Compliance with general regulatory information order
Section 50D(1)
Network agreement
Section 50F(1), (4) and (5)
Augmentation
Section 53C(3) and (4
Compliance with market information instrument
Section 136
Compliance with access determination
Section 157(1)
Preventing or hindering access
(1a)
A reliability obligation civil penalty provision is section 14R(2).
(2)
A conduct provision is a provision of this Law (other than an offence provision) or the Rules that is prescribed by the Regulations to be a conduct provision.
2ABCivil penalty amounts for breaches of civil penalty provisions
(1)
Subject to this section, the civil penalty for a breach of a civil penalty provision is—
(a)
in the case of a breach of a civil penalty provision, other than a provision prescribed under paragraph (b), (c) or (d)—
(i)
if the breach is by a natural person—
(A)
an amount not exceeding $33 900; plus
(B)
an amount not exceeding $3 390 for every day during which the breach continues;
(ii)
if the breach is by a body corporate—
(A)
an amount not exceeding $170 000; plus
(B)
an amount not exceeding $17 000 for every day during which the breach continues; or
(b)
in the case of a breach of a civil penalty provision prescribed by the Regulations for the purposes of this paragraph—
(i)
if the breach is by a natural person—
(A)
an amount not exceeding $287 000; plus
(B)
an amount not exceeding $14 400 for every day during which the breach continues;
(ii)
if the breach is by a body corporate—
(A)
an amount not exceeding $1 435 000; plus
(B)
an amount not exceeding $71 800 for every day during which the breach continues; or
(c)
in the case of a breach of a civil penalty provision prescribed by the Regulations for the purposes of this paragraph—
(i)
if the breach is by a natural person—an amount not exceeding $500 000;
(ii)
if the breach is by a body corporate—an amount not exceeding the greater of the following:
(A)
$10 000 000;
(B)
if the Court can determine the value of any benefit reasonably attributable to the breach of the civil penalty provision that the body corporate, and any body corporate related to the body corporate, has obtained, directly or indirectly—3 times the value of that benefit;
(C)
if the Court cannot determine the value of the benefit—10% of the annual turnover of the body corporate during the 12-month period ending at the end of the month in which the body corporate breached, or began breaching, the civil penalty provision; or
(d)
in the case of a breach of a reliability obligation civil penalty provision—
(i)
if the breach is by a natural person—an amount not exceeding $1 435 000;
(ii)
if the breach is by a body corporate—
(A)
an amount not exceeding $1 435 000 for a breach that relates to a reliability gap period; or
(B)
an amount that applies under paragraph (c)(ii), as if the reliability obligation civil penalty provision were prescribed by the Regulations for the purposes of paragraph (c), for a breach that relates to a second or subsequent reliability gap period.
Note—
See section 67A, which deals with conduct that constitutes a breach of a reliability obligation civil penalty provision on 2 or more occasions in relation to the same reliability gap period.
Note—
See Schedule 2 clause 37A, which provides for the amounts specified in this subsection to be adjusted every 3 years to reflect movements in the consumer price index. The adjusted amounts are published on the AER’s website.
(2)
Subsection (1)(c)(ii)(B) or (C) will only apply in a particular case (including by operation of subsection (1)(d)(ii)(B)) if the AER, in applying for an order under section 61(2)(a), requests that those provisions be applied in that particular case.
2BMeaning of direct control network service
A direct control network service is an electricity network service—
(a)
the Rules specify as a service the price for which, or the revenue to be earned from which, must be regulated under a distribution determination or transmission determination; or
(b)
if the Rules do not do so, the AER specifies, in a distribution determination or transmission determination, as a service the price for which, or the revenue to be earned from which, must be regulated under the distribution determination or transmission determination.
2CMeaning of negotiated network service
A negotiated network service is an electricity network service—
(a)
that is not a direct control network service; and
(b)
that—
(i)
the Rules specify as a negotiated network service; or
(ii)
if the Rules do not do so, the AER specifies as a negotiated network service in a distribution determination or transmission determination.
2DMeaning of regulatory obligation or requirement
(1)
A regulatory obligation or requirement is—
(a)
in relation to the provision of an electricity network service by a regulated network service provider—
(i)
a distribution system safety duty or transmission system safety duty; or
(ii)
a distribution reliability standard or transmission reliability standard; or
(iii)
a distribution service standard or transmission service standard; or
(b)
an obligation or requirement under—
(i)
this Law or Rules; or
(ia)
the National Energy Retail Law or the National Energy Retail Rules; or
(ii)
an Act of a participating jurisdiction, or any instrument made or issued under or for the purposes of that Act, that levies or imposes a tax or other levy that is payable by a regulated network service provider; or
(iii)
an Act of a participating jurisdiction, or any instrument made or issued under or for the purposes of that Act, that regulates the use of land in a participating jurisdiction by a regulated network service provider; or
(iv)
an Act of a participating jurisdiction or any instrument made or issued under or for the purposes of that Act that relates to the protection of the environment; or
(v)
an Act of a participating jurisdiction, or any instrument made or issued under or for the purposes of that Act (other than national electricity legislation or an Act of a participating jurisdiction or an Act or instrument referred to in subparagraphs (ii) to (iv)), that materially affects the provision, by a regulated network service provider, of electricity network services that are the subject of a distribution determination or transmission determination.
(2)
A regulatory obligation or requirement does not include an obligation or requirement to pay a fine, penalty or compensation—
(a)
for a breach of—
(i)
a distribution system safety duty or transmission system safety duty; or
(ii)
a distribution reliability standard or transmission reliability standard; or
(iii)
a distribution service standard or transmission service standard; or
(b)
under this Law or the Rules, the National Energy Retail Law or the National Energy Retail Rules or an Act or an instrument referred to in subsection (1)(b)(ii) to (v).
Note—
1 See also section 7A(2)(b).
2 The RoLR cost recovery scheme is dealt with under Part 6 of the National Energy Retail Law.
2EMeaning of regulatory payment
A regulatory payment is a sum that a regulated network service provider has been required or allowed to pay to a network service user or an end user for a breach of, as the case requires—
(a)
a distribution reliability standard or transmission reliability standard; or
(b)
a distribution service standard or transmission service standard,
because it was efficient for the regulated network service provider (in terms of the provider’s overall business) to pay that sum.
Note—
See also section 7A(2)(b).
2FForm of regulation factors
The form of regulation factors are—
(a)
the presence and extent of any barriers to entry in a market for electricity network services;
(b)
the presence and extent of any network externalities (that is, interdependencies) between an electricity network service provided by a network service provider and any other electricity network service provided by the network service provider;
(c)
the presence and extent of any network externalities (that is, interdependencies) between an electricity network service provided by a network service provider and any other service provided by the network service provider in any other market;
(d)
the extent to which any market power possessed by a network service provider is, or is likely to be, mitigated by any countervailing market power possessed by a network service user or prospective network service user;
(e)
the presence and extent of any substitute, and the elasticity of demand, in a market for an electricity network service in which a network service provider provides that service;
(f)
the presence and extent of any substitute for, and the elasticity of demand in a market for, electricity or gas (as the case may be);
(g)
the extent to which there is information available to a prospective network service user or network service user, and whether that information is adequate, to enable the prospective network service user or network service user to negotiate on an informed basis with a network service provider for the provision of an electricity network service to them by the network service provider.
2GRelated bodies corporate
For the purposes of this Law, 2 or more bodies corporate are related to each other if they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.
3Interpretation generally
Schedule 2 to this Law applies to this Law, the Regulations and the Rules and any other statutory instrument made under this Law.
