Appendix A: Consultation
A.1
Introduction
The Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (the Commission) received the
terms of reference to undertake an inquiry into feed-in tariff (FiT) arrangements and
barriers to distributed energy on 13 January 2012. In keeping with its usual process to
consult extensively during public inquiries, the Commission advertised the inquiry in The
Age, Herald Sun and the Weekly Times in January and February 2012. The Commission
also published an issues paper in February 2012, which outlined:

the scope of the inquiry

how to make a submission

the Commission’s consultation process

the inquiry timetable.
The issues paper invited participants to register an interest in the inquiry and to make
submissions. In total, the Commission received 1256 registrations of interest. Eighty-six
individual and 844 proforma submissions via Environment Victoria, were received before
the release of the draft report. A further 114 submissions and 100 short submissions were
received following the release of the draft report (section A.2).
The Commission held six roundtables. The first roundtable was held on 8 March 2012,
with participants from the Energy Efficiency Council. Participants discussed issues
relating to connecting distributed generators to the distribution network and FiT pricing.
The second roundtable, held on 15 March 2012, focused on connecting distributed
generation and FiT prices from the perspective of electricity retailers and distributors.
The third roundtable, held on 10 April 2012, discussed similar issues but from a consumer
perspective. Roundtable participants included government and non-governmental
organisations that deal with, or advocate for, consumer rights (section A.3).
A further three roundtables were held following the release of the draft report. A
roundtable to discuss transitional arrangements was held on 30 May 2012 and included
representatives from Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV), Consumer Utilities Advocacy
Centre (CUAC), Department of Primary Industries (DPI), electricity retailers, the Energy
and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) and the Solar Energy Industry Association
(SEIA). A second roundtable was held on 31 May 2012 which focused on distributed
generation connection issues. Attendees at this roundtable included representatives
from the electricity retailers and distribution businesses, SEIA and government agencies
(DPI and EWOV). A third roundtable was held on 7 June 2012 to discuss both transitional
arrangements and connections issues in greater detail with electricity retail businesses
and a similar meeting was held with solar installers.
The Commission consulted extensively (including meetings, visits and telephone
discussions) with Commonwealth, State and local government departments and
agencies, businesses, academics, associations and individuals (section A.4).
A.2
Submissions
The Commission received 200 submissions (table A.1). All submissions are public
documents that can be viewed on the Commission’s website.
APPENDIX A: CONSULTATION
207
Table A.1
Submissions received
No.
Participant
No.
Participant
1
Comfortid.com Pty Ltd (1)
2
WattSource
3
Jill Dumsday
4
Exigency
5
Gerard Noonan (1)
6
Gerard Noonan (2)
7
H Malcolm Walter
8
BRT Consulting Pty Ltd
9
Alistair Smith
10
Dandenong Ranges Renewable
Energy Association (1)
11
Bill Grant
12
Jeremy Ashton
13
Janet M Fitzwater
14
Lucinda Young
15
Solway Nutting
16
Jay Smith
17
Maria & Paul Hayes
18
Trish Sharkey
19
Nicole & Jason Drage
20
Johanna Winchcomb
21
Duncan Brown & Jeanette
Gillespie
22
Lucy Armstrong
23
Gordon Donaldson
24
Patricia Rivett
25
Emerald for Sustainability
26
Roger Willsher
27
Mike Reeves (1)
28
Louise Flaherty
29
Maria A Bell
30
Sandra Coventry
31
Dean Bridgfoot
32
Christine Easdown
33
Sally Kaptein & Jack Carolan
34
Robin Jensen
35
Fiona M Chant
36
Rebecca Edwards
37
National Electrical &
Communications Association (1)
38
Dawn Gilson
39
Jenny Francis
40
Alan Jones
41
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (1)
42
Neil Rankine
43
David Sparks (1)
44
Prof Alan Pears (1)
45
Climarte
46
Judy McShane
47
Frank Barbara
48
Energy & Water Ombudsman
Victoria (1)
49
Mildura Development Corporation
(1)
50
Ironbark Sustainability
51
Environment Victoria
52
Saturn Corporate Resources Pty
Ltd
53
Regional Cleantech Solutions
54
Susie Burke
55
LIVE
56
Australian Solar Round Table (1)
57
Advance Solar Electrical
58
Simply Energy (1)
59
South East Councils Climate
Change Alliance (1)
60
Enviromate
61
Darebin City Council
62
Rachel Cook
63
Australian PV Association
64
Beyond Zero Emissions
65
F Lisner
66
David & Pamela Rothfield
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POWER FROM THE PEOPLE: AN INQUIRY INTO DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
Table A.1
Submissions received (cont)
No.
Participant
No.
Participant
67
APA Group (1)
68
Alex Macleod
69
Warburton Community Hydro
Project (1)
70
Liz Burton
71
Union Fenosa Wind Australia
72
AGL (1)
73
Alternative Technology
Association
74
Energy Supply Association of
Australia (1)
75
Moreland Energy Foundation
76
Clean Energy Council
77
United Energy (1)
78
Renewable Energy Solutions
Australia Holdings Ltd
79
Jemena
80
CitiPower & Powercor (1)
81
Origin Energy
82
Graham Scarlett (1)
83
Loy Yang Marketing
Management Company
84
Neilson Electronic Systems Pty Ltd
85
Lumo Energy
86
Grattan Institute
D87
Mark Collard
D88
Fernando Longo
D89
Glenn Michael
D90
Lee B Sundin
D91
Peter Anzo
D92
Regional Cleantech Solutions (2)
D93
Withdrawn
D94
Stewart Kerr
D95
Roger Lambert (1)
D96
Elizabeth Walsh
D97
Graham Scarlett (2)
D98
John A Southern
D99
David Barnett
D100
Withdrawn
D101
Rupert Steiner
D102
Recurrent Technologies Pty Ltd
D103
Robin Friday
D104
David Stratton
D105
Roger Lambert (2)
D106
Eleonora Symmonds
D107
Michael Wakefield
D108
Antoni Pisa
D109
Peter Strickland
D110
Peter Dewez
D111
City of Port Phillip
D112
Comfortid.com (2)
D113
Seng Tan
D114
Dandenong Ranges Renewable
Energy Association (2)
D115
Gerard Noonan (3)
D116
Andrew Slodkiewicz
D117
Janette Coleman
D118
Jane Hildebrant
D119
Lois Knight
D120
Darren Davis
D121
Satish Verma
D122
Bernard Dunlop
D123
Anthony Jones
D124
Roy & Joy Verran
D125
Ray Cowling
D126
Jan Strawhorn
D127
Huw Jones
D128
Mike J Dunn
D129
David Sparks (2)
D130
Mike Reeves (2)
D131
Ann Scally
D132
Pam & Peter Hannan
D133
Enviromate (2)
D134
Richard West
APPENDIX A: CONSULTATION
209
Table A.1
Submissions received (cont)
No.
Participant
No.
Participant
D135
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (2)
D136
Gerard Verhoef
D137
Geoffrey Dillon
D138
Patricia Christian
D139
Bruce Person
D140
Northern Alliance for Greenhouse
Action
D141
Moira Walsh
D142
John Solley
D143
John Fisiak
D144
Mark Oscar
D145
Heinz Herrmann
D146
Peter & Colleen Raynes
D147
Withdrawn
D148
Jeffrey Watkins
D149
Alan Griffin
D150
William Raper
D151
Sandra & Ian Dinsdale
D152
Alex Dupleix
D153
John Sime
D154
Mike Erskine
D155
Anne-Marie Gibson
D156
Roger Ghost
D157
Graeme Hanks
D158
John Speelmeyer
D159
Robert Mossop
D160
Energy Innovation Co-operative
D161
Housing Industry Association
D162
Jailal Lalji
D163
Energy & Water Ombudsman
Victoria (2)
D164
P, S & D Marcuccio
D165
Rowan Ewing
D166
Jack Melhuish
D167
Warburton Hydro Group (2)
D168
Solar Business Council (2)
D169
City of Whitehorse
D170
LMS Energy
D171
Sally McIlroy
D172
Simply Energy (2)
D173
City of Boroondara
D174
National Electrical &
Communications Association (2)
D175
South East Councils Climate
Change Alliance (2)
D176
Mike Daffey
D177
Mildura Development
Corporation (2)
D178
Gary Davison
D179
Lorraine & William Anthony
D180
Energy Retailers of Australia
Limited
D181
APA Group (2)
D182
City of Melbourne
D183
Ian Julian
D184
CitiPower & Powercor (2)
D185
Prendergast Projects
D186
Peter Richardson
D187
Andrew Lang
D188
Owen Willoughby
D189
Alternative Technology
Association (ATA) (2)
D190
Kathryn Miller & Matthew Thomas
D191
Property Council of Australia
D192
Prof Alan Pears
D193
AGL (2)
D194
Energy Supply Association of
Australia (2)
D195
Bernie McComb
D196
Origin Energy (2)
D197
Clean Energy Council
D198
TRUenergy
D199
United Energy (2)
D200
Energy Efficiency Council
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POWER FROM THE PEOPLE: AN INQUIRY INTO DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
In addition, the Commission received 844 submissions from individuals submitted as an
Environment Victoria proforma submission. Of these, 718 submissions consisted of the
Environment Victoria proforma without any additional comments and 126 provided
additional comments or replaced the proforma. A list of Environment proforma
submitters can be found on the Commission’s website at www.vcec.vic.gov.au. A copy
of the Environment proforma submission and individual additional comments can also
be viewed on the Commission’s website.
Following the release of the draft report 100 short submissions were also received. A list
of these submitters and their submissions can be found on the Commission’s website at
www.vcec.vic.gvo.au.
A.3
Roundtables
The Commission held six roundtables: three roundtables in March and April 2012, and a
further three roundtables in May and June 2012 following the release of the draft report.
Roundtable participants are listed below (tables A.2, A.3, A.4, A.5, A.6 and A.7).
Table A.2
Energy efficiency roundtable
Participant
Organisation
Mark Lampard
AECOM
Kriston Symons
AECOM
Brad Knowles
Alerton
Bob Norris
Dalkia
Ben Samways
Honeywell
Simon Helps
MWM
Randy Gadient
Siemens
Dr Matthew Butlin
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Table A.3
Retailers and distributors roundtable
Participant
Organisation
Nicole Wallis
AGL
Siva Moorthy
Jemena
Alice Adriannse
Lumo Energy
Ian Cupidon
Lumo Energy
Annalisa Cattanach
Powercor and CitiPower
Matthew Serpell
Powercor and CitiPower
Julie Buckland
SP Ausnet
Kate Jdanova
SP Ausnet
Ross Evans
TRUenergy
Marcel La Bouchardiere
United Energy
Verity Watson
United Energy
Dr Matthew Butlin
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
APPENDIX A: CONSULTATION
211
Table A.4
Consumer groups roundtable
Participant
Organisation
Gerard Brody
Consumer Action Law Centre
Gemma Dodson
Consumer Affairs Victoria
David Stanford
Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre
Dean Lombard
Victorian Council of Social Service
Dr Matthew Butlin
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Table A.5
Transitional arrangements roundtable – May 30
2012
Participant
Organisation
Jane Harris
Consumer Affairs Victoria
David Stanford
Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre
John Krbaleski
Department of Primary Industries
Kate Sadler
Department of Primary Industries
Tamara Abraham
Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria
Belinda Crivelli
Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria
Robert McCauley
RJM Sunpower
Jenna Polson
Simply Energy
Robert Murphy
Solar Energy Industries Association
Ross Evans
TRU Energy
Dr Matthew Butlin
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Table A.6
Household-scale connection roundtable – May 31
2012
Participant
Organisation
Andrew Neilson
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
Matthew Serpell
CitiPower and Powercor
Sandy Atkins
Clean Energy Council
Kate Sadler
Department of Primary Industries
Tamara Abraham
Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria
Belinda Crivelli
Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria
Neil Fraser
Energy Safe Victoria
Greg Johnson
Energy Safe Victoria
Jenna Polson
Simply Energy
Robert Murphy
Solar Energy Industries Association
Max Rankin
SP AusNet
Ross Evans
TRU Energy
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POWER FROM THE PEOPLE: AN INQUIRY INTO DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
Table A.6
Household-scale connection roundtable – May 31
2012 (cont)
Participant
Organisation
Dr Matthew Butlin
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Table A.7
Retail business roundtable – 7 June 2012
Participant
Organisation
Kate Sadler
Department of Primary Industries
David Lee
Energy Retailers Association
Darren Bailey
Origin Energy
David Calder
Origin Energy
Jenna Polson
Simply Energy
Ross Evans
TRU Energy
Deborah Cope
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
Glen Hepburn
Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission
A.4
Stakeholder consultations
The Commission consulted with academics, businesses, industry associations and key
interest groups, and drew on the knowledge and expertise of Victorian,
Commonwealth and local government departments and agencies. In addition, the
Commission conducted a short Victorian Energy Retail Business Survey to assist its
analysis of current and future Victorian FiT arrangements. The Commission sent a copy
of the survey to all electricity retailers in Victoria, seeking their comments and
feedback. The survey responses form part of the Commission’s broader stakeholder
consultation process.
Table A.8
Consultation participants
Organisation or Individual
Organisation or Individual
AGL
Alan Pears
Alternative Technology Association
Australian Energy Market Commission
Australian Energy Market Operator
Australian Energy Regulator
Australian Petroleum Production &
Exploration Association
Building Advisory Council
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited
City of Melbourne
Clean Energy Council
Consumer Action Law Centre
Consumer Affairs Victoria
Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre
Department of Business & Innovation
Department of Finance & Deregulation
(Cth)
Department of Human Services
Department of Justice
Department of Premier & Cabinet
Department of Primary Industries
Department of Treasury & Finance
Energy & Water Ombudsman Victoria
APPENDIX A: CONSULTATION
213
Table A.8
Consultation participants (cont)
Organisation or Individual
Organisation or Individual
Energy Efficiency Council
Essential Services Commission
Exigency
Hepburn Shire Council
Hepburn Wind
Independent Pricing & Regulatory Tribunal
Institute for Sustainable Futures (University
of Technology Sydney)
Jemena
Lumo Energy
Minister for Energy & Resources
Moreland Energy Foundation
Mount Alexander Sustainability Group
Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator
(Cth)
Powercor and CitiPower
Productivity Commission
Property Council of Australia (Victorian
Division)
Solar Energy Industries Association
SP Ausnet
Sustainability Victoria
Sustainable Melbourne Fund
TRUenergy
Victorian Council of Social Service
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POWER FROM THE PEOPLE: AN INQUIRY INTO DISTRIBUTED GENERATION