Competition Oversight

While the Commission cannot of itself foster competition, it has some residual functions and powers that enable it to monitor competition and suggest market improvements. The principal role the Commission can play in this regard is to ensure that it exercises its functions and powers in regulated monopoly sectors so as to protect competition in contestable sectors upstream and downstream of those monopoly sectors.

Electricity Retail Supply Code

The Utilities Commission has made an Electricity Supply Retail Code to set out the rules governing the processes for transferring customers, the obligations of retailers and network providers, retailer of last resort and dispute resolution procedures. The objective of this Code is to document and codify the arrangements that are immediately necessary to support effective business to business interactions and to provide appropriate customer protection.

The Code is based on the extensive initial work by Northern Territory Treasury, including consultation with electricity industry participants. The Commission has also published an explanatory document setting out the reasons and rationale for developing the Code.

• Electricity Retail Supply Code
• Statement of Reasons - Electricity Retail Supply Code