Part 2Administration

Part 2—Administration 6—Functions and powers of Commission (1) Pursuant to section 6A of the Act, the Commission has (in addition to the Commission's functions and powers under the Act and the Essential Services Commission Act 2002) the following functions: (a) to determine, in accordance with a process specified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, and at the expense of 1 or more of the entities, any matter in dispute between 2 or more gas entities that falls within a range of matters specified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette; (b) on or before 31 August in each year, to submit to the Minister and publish on its website a report prepared for the purposes of monitoring prices for the sale of gas available to a small customer under the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) during the immediately preceding financial year containing the information required by the Minister under subregulation (2). (2) The Minister may require the following information for the year to which the report relates to be included in a report prepared under subregulation (1)(b): (a) comparisons of standing offer prices of NERL retailers generally available to classes of small customers in South Australia; (b) estimates relating to the annual cost to a small customer of gas supplied to the customer (based on a reasonable estimate of the average annual level of consumption of gas by a small customer in South Australia) under each standard retail contract of NERL retailers generally available to classes of small customers in South Australia; (c) details relating to the difference in annual cost to a small customer of gas supplied to the customer (based on a reasonable estimate of the average annual level of consumption of gas by a small customer in South Australia) under market offer prices of NERL retailers generally available to classes of small customers in South Australia compared to the cost to that customer under standing offer prices of NERL retailers generally available to classes of small customers in South Australia; (d) such other information as the Minister requires in writing to be included. (3) The Minister may require the information referred to in subregulation (2) to be presented in such manner and form as the Minister considers appropriate, including in the form of variations or trends over time. market offer prices, standard retail contract and standing offer prices have the same respective meanings as in the National Energy Retail Law. Part 3—Licensing of gas entities 7—Exemption from requirement to hold licence (1) A person who carries on the operation of a distribution system is not required to be licensed under the Act if the system consists only of an inset distribution system. (2) A person who carries on the operation of a distribution system is not required to be licensed under the Act if the system consists only of a prescribed transmission pipeline. (3) A person who carries on the retailing of gas is not required to be licensed under the Act if the sale of gas is only for the operation of an electricity generating plant by a person who holds or is required to hold a licence under the Electricity Act 1996 to carry on the operation of the plant. (4) Subject to these regulations, an exemption under this regulation is subject to the condition that the person comply with any requirement imposed by or under the Act, these regulations or a code made by the Commission under the Essential Services Commission Act 2002 as if the person were a gas entity authorised by a licence to carry on the operations to which the exemption relates. (5) The appropriate regulator may grant an exemption from subregulation (4), or from specified requirements referred to in that subregulation, on terms and conditions the appropriate regulator considers appropriate. (6) In subregulation (5)— appropriate regulator means— (a) in relation to Part 5 of the Act or Part 9 of these regulations or any safety requirement—the Technical Regulator; or (b) in any other case—the Commission. 8—Licence fees—transitional provision—licensed supplier of reticulated gas under repealed Act Pursuant to clause 2(2) of Schedule 1 of the Act, the following provisions apply with respect to the payment of licence fees and the initial licence period: (a) a person to whom a licence is issued under clause 2(1) of Schedule 1 authorising the retailing of gas must pay— (i) not later than the first day of the licence period, by way of annual licence fee, an amount equal to one‑quarter of the amount calculated or fixed under section 24(3)(a) of the Act; and (ii) thereafter, instalments of the annual licence fee as for a licence issued on 1 October 1997; (b) a person to whom a licence is issued under clause 2(1) of Schedule 1 authorising the operation of a distribution system must pay— (i) not later than the first day of the licence period, by way of annual licence fee, an amount equal to 1 quarter of the amount calculated or fixed under section 24(3)(b) of the Act; and (ii) thereafter, instalments of the annual licence fee as for a licence issued on 1 October 1997. 9—Licence fees and returns (1) For the purposes of section 24(2) of the Act, the licence fee, or the first instalment of the licence fee (as the case may require), must— (a) in the case of a licence referred to in regulation 8 (after the initial payments under that regulation), be paid before 1 October in each year; or (b) in any other case, be paid before the anniversary in each year of the day on which the licence was issued. (2) For the purposes of section 24(2) of the Act, an annual return must be lodged before 31 August in each year. (3) For the purposes of section 24(7) of the Act, the penalty for default— (a) for failing to pay a licence fee, or an instalment of a licence fee, is 10% per annum of the outstanding amount calculated daily on a cumulative basis; (b) for failing to lodge an annual return is $500. (4) For the purposes of paragraph (d) of the definition of administrative costs in section 24(9) of the Act, the costs of administration of the Australian Energy Market Commission relating to the gas supply industry in South Australia in the financial year to which the licence relates is a prescribed cost. 10—Licence condition requiring retailers to match available gas to customers' estimated aggregate demand The Commission must make a licence authorising the retailing of gas subject to a condition requiring the gas entity to ensure that at all times the quantity of gas available to it for delivery to its customers from a distribution system is sufficient to meet reasonable forecasts of its customers' aggregate demand for gas from the distribution system. 11—Ombudsman scheme For the purposes of sections 26(1)(d) and 26A(2)(i) of the Act, the electricity supply industry is prescribed. 12—Licence condition requiring pricing information for small customers For the purposes of section 26A(2)(d) of the Act, 1 January 2005 is the prescribed date. 13—Prescribed information in small customer accounts for purposes of section 26A(2)(da) of Act For the purposes of section 26A(2)(da) of the Act, the following provisions apply: (a) the gas entity must include in each account for gas charges sent to a small customer for gas supply through a particular metered delivery point the following information: (i) the customer's average daily consumption level, expressed in megajoules, of gas supplied through the delivery point for the period to which the account relates; (ii) the customer's average daily consumption level, expressed in megajoules, of gas supplied through the delivery point for each period during the preceding 12 months in respect of which the customer was sent by the entity an account for gas supply through the delivery point; (iii) the average daily cost to the customer of gas supplied to the customer through the delivery point during the period to which the account relates; (b) the gas entity must also include in each account for gas charges sent to a small customer the following statement: For more information about energy efficiency, visit or call ........................ [telephone number as specified by the Commission by written notice to the entity]. 14—Ombudsman scheme and retailing—annual gas consumption level For the purposes of section 26A(2)(i) of the Act, an annual gas consumption level of 10 terajoules is prescribed. 15—Content of register of licences For the purposes of section 32(2) of the Act, the register of licences must include (in addition to the terms and conditions of each licence)— (a) details of each application for the issue, renewal or variation of a licence; and (b) on any such application being refused or withdrawn, a statement to that effect.