On 23 November 2021, Mortlake South Wind Farm Pty Ltd (ACN 622 271 363) applied for a licence to generate electricity for supply or sale, and to sell electricity under section 18 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic).

Consultation on the licence application closed on 21 December 2021. We did not receive any submissions. 

We granted the licence on 8 June 2022. The licence was varied 30 May 2023.

This page lists the events where a distributor's application for exclusion from the guaranteed service level scheme was granted, having satisfied the conditions we've set.

The guaranteed service level scheme is a performance based penalty framework on distributors. However, under specific conditions as set out in the Electricity Distribution Code of Practice, distributors can apply to seek exclusion from it where the factors were considered beyond their control. 

From time to time, we review the exclusion conditions that apply to distributors to be fit for purpose.

See the Exclusions tab on this page for events where exclusions have been granted from the guaranteed service level scheme.

We have completed our annual review of the minimum feed-in tariffs that your energy company pays you for power you export to the grid via sources including solar panels.

From 1 July 2022, retailers will continue to be able to offer solar system owners a single rate feed-in tariff, a time-varying feed-in tariff or both.

Our final decision

Retailers can offer solar customers the minimum flat feed-in tariff and/or the time-varying feed-in tariffs for electricity exported to the grid. The table below shows the minimum feed-in tariffs to apply from 1 July 2022.

The inputs to the minimum feed-in tariff model have been updated since we released the draft decision in December 2021 but the outputs are unchanged. This reflects the most recent data available to us at the time of our final decision. Compared to our draft decision, wholesale electricity price forecasts increased very slightly, but these were offset by reduced transmission and distribution losses. 

Read our media release on the final decision.

Why the minimum feed-in tariff changes each year

The minimum feed-in tariff changes each year mostly because of changes in wholesale electricity prices. Wholesale electricity makes up most of the costs covered by the minimum feed-in tariff. In recent years, wholesale electricity prices have been going down, particularly during the middle of the day when most solar is exported.

The wholesale electricity price is set in a competitive national market, based on the supply of and demand for energy. The wholesale price is not set by government or a regulator.

The chart below shows how the wholesale electricity price and the minimum feed-in tariff have changed since 2015.

Why the minimum feed-in tariff is lower than the retail electricity tariff

The minimum feed-in tariff is a payment you receive for generating electricity.

When retailers provide electricity to their customers, they must cover costs including:

• the 'spot price' of energy in the national energy market paid to generators
• transporting electricity (the poles and wires connecting customers to electricity generators)
• complying with environmental programs
• operating a retail business (for example, billing and revenue collection systems, information technology systems, call centre costs, human resources, finance, legal services, regulatory compliance costs, licence costs and marketing).

These additional costs mean retail electricity tariffs will always be higher than the minimum feed-in tariffs.
 

How we calculate the minimum feed-in tariff

Legislation controls how we regulate the minimum feed-in tariff. The costs we must include are set out in the Electricity Industry Act 2000.

We calculate the minimum feed-in tariff starting by forecasting the wholesale price of electricity for the year ahead. The wholesale price varies across different times of the day due to changing supply and demand. As solar panels generally export power between certain hours of the day, we only use the forecast wholesale price during these 'solar hours'.

In our calculation, we also include:

• avoided transmission and distribution losses: the value of energy saved by not transporting the energy long distances from large scale generators.
• other fees and charges: the value of market fees and ancillary service charges that retailers avoid when energy is produced by solar customers.
• avoided social cost of carbon: the value associated with avoiding carbon emissions when energy is produced by solar customers. It is currently set at 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh) by the Victorian government.

Got a question?

Contact us for more information. 

ReAmped Energy Pty Limited (ACN 605 682 684) applied for a licence to sell gas by retail under section 25 of the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic).

We may grant or refuse to grant applications for any reason we consider appropriate having regard to our objectives under the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic) and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic).

We granted the licence on 8 December 2021.

Feedback on the licence application

Feedback on the licence application closed on 17 November 2021.

We received six submissions regarding ReAmped Energy’s application for a gas retail licence. Six Victorian customers responded to the questionnaire on Engage Victoria.

Stakeholder submissions can be found under the resources tab.

ReAmped Energy provided a response to stakeholder feedback on 23 November 2021. This can also be found under the resources tab.

CleanTech Energy Pty Ltd (ACN 603 595 704) (trading as Delorean Energy Retail) has applied for a licence to sell gas by retail under section 25 of the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic).

We may grant or refuse to grant the application for any reason we consider appropriate having regard to our objectives under the Gas Industry Act 2001 (Vic) and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic).

We granted the licence on 1 December 2021.

Enel Energy Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 632 774 255) has applied for a licence to sell electricity by retail under section 18 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic).

We may grant or refuse to grant the application for any reason we consider appropriate having regard to our objectives under the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic) and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic).

We granted the licence on 24 November 2021.

Submit your feedback on the application 

Feedback on the licence application closed on 4 November 2021.