Annual Report 2018-19

Our work affects 2.4 million Victorian households every day. Here are some of the ways our work had an impact in 2018–19.

22 electricity and gas

Anyone generating, supplying or selling electricity or gas in Victoria must hold a licence issued by us, unless exempt under the energy rules. 

From 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019, we issued 22 new energy licences. This included 12 electricity generation licences, four electricity retail licences, four electricity wholesale licences and two gas retail licences.  

These additional licences mean in the future, Victorians will have access to an extra 1560 MW of electricity capacity, and increased choice of energy retailers.

5,800 water

In 2018–19, we surveyed 5,800 water customers across 16 state-owned urban and regional water corporations for their views on four key areas: value for money, reputation in the community, level of trust and overall satisfaction.

Overall, water businesses received a ‘solid pass with room to improve’, with businesses scoring between 5.8 and 6.4 out of 10 across the four areas.

By surveying customers directly, we are seeking to ensure water businesses consider customer views as a priority. 

The survey results, released quarterly, complement our water pricing framework to ensure customer views are at the forefront of water business decisions.

79 Local Government

In May 2019, we released our first report on the impact of rate capping for all 79 local councils in Victoria. The report found the rate-capping system has kept a lid on rate rises without having a significant effect on services to ratepayers and asset renewal.

Our report provided information about how councils used the $10 billion in revenue they receive from ratepayers each year to provide services, infrastructure and facilities. 

In 2019, our report showed the percentage increase in rates has halved since the introduction of rate capping, meaning more sustainable rates for ratepayers.

53 Million Victorian Energy Upgrades

Since 2009, the Victorian Energy Upgrades program has avoided the emission of up to 53 million tonnes of greenhouse gases through the installation of energy efficient products in Victorian homes and businesses.

We also took enforcement action related to over 101,952 Victorian energy efficiency certificates during the 2018–19 financial year. 

In September 2018, AGL paid $2,991,621 after failing to surrender 64,033 certificates. 

In March 2019, we ordered Wattly to surrender 37,919 certificates. Enforcement action is designed to protect the integrity of the upgrades program for the benefit of accredited providers and Victorian consumers.

$40,000 Accident Towing

Our December 2018 final report on accidental towing services found that the estimated revenue per tow truck licence was $40,000 in 2017.

We compared this with cost trends over a five year period to help us determine if any increases or decreases in regulated accident towing fees were justified.

In 2018–19, we recommended that accident towing fees remain unchanged, and that the ‘under cover’ vehicle storage fee be increased from $17 to $25 per day.