Regulatory sandboxing and trial waivers
Victoria’s new regulatory sandboxing framework enabling innovators to trial new products and services in the energy market commenced on 1 June 2022.
New provisions in the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Gas Industry Act 2001 and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 provide the commission new powers to grant a time-limited trial waiver to innovators who sell, supply, generate or transmit electricity, or sell or supply gas. This will allow the trialling of innovative technologies, approaches, business models, products and services in the Victorian energy market, in a controlled setting, and help inform whether permanent changes to particular energy rules would benefit Victorian consumers.
Trial waivers operate alongside licences and licence exemptions as a distinct authorisation category that enables entry into Victoria’s energy market.
To support the regulatory sandboxing framework, we have developed a Trial Project Guideline to provide Victoria-specific guidance to innovators on the requirements to operate a project in Victoria. The Trial Project Guideline sets out our proposed approach, information and process requirements that we will consider for trial waiver applications and how decisions on trial waiver applications will be made.
Consultation
We consulted on our draft decision and draft Trial Project from 19 April to 17 May 2022. We received three submissions, available in the resources tab. Submissions covered a number of topics, including:
- mandatory membership with the Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria) for all trial waiver holders
- information requirements for dispute resolution
- the timeframe to determine trial waiver applications
- consultation trial waiver applications
- monitoring and reporting
- confidential information
- extension of trial waivers.
Feedback on the national regulatory sandboxing framework
The Australian Energy Regulator consulted with stakeholders on its draft Trial Projects Guidelines to support the development of a national regulatory sandboxing framework. We have had regard to the Australian Energy Regulator’s draft guidelines in developing our guideline and sought to achieve consistency where possible and appropriate.
Key facts
Energy Innovation Toolkit website and portal
To support a national regulatory sandboxing framework being established in the national energy market, we worked with the Australian Energy Regulator and other project partners on a new website - Energy Innovation Toolkit. The website houses resources such as case studies, market maps and other information to help innovators navigate the regulatory frameworks relevant to their project.
The website includes the Innovation Enquiry Service which provides a centralised hub for innovators to submit enquiries and seek informal feedback specific to their trial project. The website also houses an online trial waiver application portal, which enables innovators to apply for a Victorian trial waiver.
Benefits to consumers and the environment
Our decision on regulatory sandboxing aims to benefit businesses, consumers and the environment. New, innovative technologies can help reduce the costs of providing secure and reliable energy supplies to consumers, as well as contribute to reducing carbon emissions.
Key aspects of trial waivers
In Victoria, trial waivers will operate alongside licences and licence exemptions, as a distinct authorisation. They will authorise a person or entity to undertake any of the activities that normally require an electricity or gas licence pursuant to section 16 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 and section 22 of the Gas Industry Act 2001.
Read our final decision and guideline
We released our final decision and Trial Project Guideline on 29 June 2022. You can also read our media release about this report.
Sector
Date
Consultation closed on 17 May 2022
