DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 1 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 2 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 3 of 76 s.49 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 4 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 5 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE s.49 - Signature DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 6 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL s.49 RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 7 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 8 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 9 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 10 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL s.49 RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 11 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 12 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 13 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 14 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 15 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 16 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 17 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 18 of 76 s.49 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 19 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 20 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE s.49 - Signature DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 21 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI s.49 13-369 File B Documents Page 22 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 23 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 24 of 76 Released DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 25 of 76 Released s.49 DEWS - RELEASE s.49 DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 26 of 76 DEWS - RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 27 of 76 s.49 DEWS - s.49 RELEASE DL RTI 13-369 File B Documents Page 28 of 76 From: DEWS_ODG [[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, 9 January 2013 8:47 AM To: Barr, Benn CC: Energy and Water Supply Correspondence Subject: CTS00384-13 MC11807 Correspondence from the Department of Energy and Water Supply Attachments: Serious Anomalies in Small Business Network Tariff 8300 Follow Up Flag: Follow up Flag Status: Flagged Dear Benn DG thinks this may be a duplicate - would you investigate and draft a response for DG via email protocols please. Regards Jennifer Jennifer Lawrence A/Executive Officer Office of the Director-General (DEWS) Phone: + 61 7 3238 3185 Mobile s.49 DEWS - From: Energy and Water Supply Correspondence Sent: Tuesday, 8 January 2013 8:47 AM To: DEWS_ODG Subject: FW: MC11807 Correspondence from the Department of Energy and Water Supply Hi Jennifer RELEASE For DG’s consideration. Please advise appropriate action. DL Thanks Benjamin Marsden RTI Correspondence Officer Cabinet and Correspondence Services Planning, Performance and Governance Department of Energy and Water Supply Level 13, 41 George Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 PO Box 15456, City East Qld 4002 Phone: + 61 7 3006 5976 Short Dial: X 65976 Email: [email protected] [email protected] From: Trevor St Baker [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday, 7 January 2013 7:08 PM To: Energy and Water Supply Correspondence Cc: '[email protected]'; 'Jeffrey Sommerfeld ([email protected])'; Tony Bellas - External Subject: RE: MC11807 Correspondence from the Department of Energy and Water Supply Jon, 13-369 File B Documents Page 29 of 76 Resent with the 17th December follow-up email to Minister attached. Trevor Jon, It seems that my home-based emailing on the weekend was not successful, so I will try again. As a result of the busy festive and vacation season, your response on Friday to my email of 4th November to the Minister seems to have effectively crossed my subsequent email of 17th December 2012 to the Minister, attached hereto, which I was to discuss with his office, hopefully this coming week, s78B(2) - Privacy As an essentially independent analyst of some standing, and as ERM Power Retail had not previously concentrated on such small business energy customers, except in relation to customers with multiple sites, such as State Schools and medical centres, I have felt compelled to raise the complete travesty for some of the ”real salt-of-the-earth small business owners” of being confronted with GOC Retailer pass-thru network cost increases on 1 July 2012 of the order of 65%, just three months after the new government being elected; and being elected, among other promises, to contain rising electricity prices. DEWS This is not however just the case for those small business customers compelled- to change from the gazetted small business volume tariff from 1 July 2013, and in fact the increased charge for these customers in most cases is not as great as for small business customers already on the Small Business Network Tariff 8300. Notwithstanding the process to rescind and backdate the anomalous 8300 Network Tariff increases, failure to rectify this enormous increase in government charges, which was clearly a mistake by Energex, without further delay, can only be seen as indicating that this must have been a deliberate government policy, albeit at odds with all that I understand is the attitude of the new government. In fact the AER wanted to requireRELEASE that more than just those compelled to change from the Gazetted Small Business tariff should have these increases rescinded DL In my follow up email to the Minister of 17th December, I attempted to more briefly set out the apparent public policy flaws in the Small Business Network Tariff 8300 tariff increases, and to the observation that increases of such a level for such a small band of Energex customers could RTInot be vital to Energex’s viability, or business return, except for a small unjustified hit on this small band of electricity customers, and that the increase was so counter to any realistic tariff policy direction to incentivise customers to move to competitive demand tariffs, free of regulatory controls or constraints, especially in the case of business energy customers who should least likely justify government gazetted price protection. If it would be appropriate, could we meet this week to explain what I believe is the negative impact that this single tariff increase is having on promulgating a wider acceptance of more open “regulation-free” electricity retailing, and even perhaps bring forward some of the tales of serious impacts on small businesses in the State of such huge increases in government electricity network charges, although I believe that impacts of such large increases in network costs on top of the carbon tax, hardly need any more pleadings from those small businesses affected. I must reiterate that ERM Power has nothing to gain as ERM Power Retail has not until recently concentrated on such small business energy customers, except for its exceptional reputation of the highest customer satisfaction rating of all business energy retailers throughout Australia, and is expanding this service to all deregulated business energy customers. Tony Bellas and I first took our concerns to the executive officer assisting your inter-departmental DG committee, and had hoped that our direct representations to the Minister could serve to bring some urgency to correcting this serious impact on this small, but 13-369 File B Documents Page 30 of 76 important small business electricity customer band. Having started this process, I will be guided by you as to how best to complete this representation to Government, having spent 20 years of my career within public sector electricity corporations. Regards, Trevor St Baker Deputy Chairman and Founder ERM Power Limited Level 5, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane GPO Box 7152 Brisbane Qld 4001 Ph: 61 7 3020 5103 Fax: 61 7 3020 5111 Mob: s.49 www.ermpower.com.au DEWS - This email has been sent by ERM Power Limited or a related entity and it may contain confidential and privileged information. If you have accidently received this email do not use or share the information, notify the sender immediately by return email and delete all copies on your system. If this email contains personal information please handle that information with respect to the privacy of the individual and in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988. Note that emails may not be accurate representations as they can be interfered with. ERM Power Limited’s head office is at Level 5, Riverside Centre, Brisbane QLD 4000. Telephone contact details are +61 7 3020 5100, facsimile +61 7 3020 5111. Regards, RELEASE Trevor St Baker DL From: Energy and Water Supply Correspondence [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, 4 January 2013 3:20 PM To: Trevor St Baker RTI Cc: [email protected] Subject: MC11807 Correspondence from the Department of Energy and Water Supply MC11807 To: Mr Trevor St Baker [email protected] Cc: Honourable Mark McArdle MP, Minister for Energy and Water Supply, Member for Caloundra Dear Mr St Baker Re: Changes to Network Tariff 8300 I refer to your email of 4 November 2012 about changes to electricity network tariffs for businesses and specifically those on network tariff code 8300.