{"id":38549,"date":"2020-03-30T06:39:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T20:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=38549"},"modified":"2020-03-30T06:39:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-29T20:09:21","slug":"aer-energy-expectations-mb1464","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy Businesses Directed To Protect Households And Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38550\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia.jpg\" alt=\"Australian energy businesses and COVID-10\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia-1024x538.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia-768x403.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) outlined its expectations for energy retailers and networks during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating they must &#8220;go above and beyond&#8221; to support customers.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The AER regulates electricity networks and covered gas pipelines in all jurisdictions across Australia except in WA. Among its responsibilities are enforcing laws associated with the National Electricity Market (NEM), monitoring and reporting on market participant conduct and competition effectiveness.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aer.gov.au\/publications\/corporate-documents\/aer-statement-of-expectations-of-energy-businesses-protecting-consumers-and-the-energy-market-during-covid-19\">Statement Of Expectations<\/a> published Friday sets out ten principles the AER expects adherence to during this time, to the maximum extent possible. Key points:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Energy retailers are to offer payment plans or hardship arrangements to all residential and small business customers indicating financial stress, whether or not that customer meets usual criteria for assistance.<\/li>\n<li>There is to be no disconnection of any residential or small business customer in financial stress (unless it&#8217;s with their agreement) before 31 July 2020\u00a0 &#8211; and potentially beyond that date.<\/li>\n<li>Referrals of customers to debt collection agencies for recovery action or credit default listing must be deferred until at least 31 July 2020.<\/li>\n<li>The waiving of disconnection, reconnection and\/or contract break fees for small businesses that have ceased operation, along with daily supply charges to retailers, during any period of disconnection until at least 31 July 2020.<\/li>\n<li>Clear, up-to-date communications with customers is to be prioritised and planned outages for critical works minimised.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cPeople enter into a contract when they sign up with an energy retailer,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aer.gov.au\/news-release\/energy-businesses-must-go-above-and-beyond-to-support-customers-doing-it-tough\">said<\/a> AER Chair Clare Savage. &#8220;But businesses also have a deal, a social contract, with the community in which they operate. At a time like this, it is vital they remember their broader social obligations&#8221;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These expectations don&#8217;t mean Australian households and businesses can just stop paying their energy bills and the AER is not calling for an amnesty on bill payments &#8211; after all, energy businesses need to be able to stay in business too.<\/p>\n<h2>More Action Needed By Energy Companies &#8211; Taylor<\/h2>\n<p>Commenting on the AER&#8217;s release, Federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor stated several energy companies have already taken some steps to assist customers under financial stress, but during the Morrison Government expects more action.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We expect energy companies to look after their customers, keep them connected and waive additional fees and charges for those doing it tough,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.minister.industry.gov.au\/ministers\/taylor\/media-releases\/energy-retailers-and-networks-must-protect-australian-households-0\">said<\/a> Minister Taylor on Friday in a joint release with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. \u201cWe expect them to do more to help small businesses who have gone into hibernation to avoid any energy costs, and we expect them to pass on the huge price drops we are seeing in the wholesale market.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Ministers Taylor and Frydenberg said the Morrison Government will be closely monitoring retailer and network compliance with AER&#8217;s measures.<\/p>\n<h2>Other Energy Related Assistance For Business<\/h2>\n<p>For businesses in a position to do so, now is a very good time to consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/commercial-solar-guide.html\">commercial solar<\/a> given the relevant financial stimulus measures announced earlier this month <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/commercial-solar-write-off\/\">that SQ&#8217;s Ronald has explained here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Friday, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) outlined its expectations for energy retailers and networks during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating they must &#8220;go above and beyond&#8221; to support customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":38550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Energy Businesses Directed To Protect Households And Small Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On Friday, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) outlined its expectations for energy retailers and networks during the COVID-19 pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Energy Businesses Directed To Protect Households And Small Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On Friday, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) outlined its expectations for energy retailers and networks during the COVID-19 pandemic.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-29T20:09:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/energy-direction-australia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"Energy Businesses Directed To Protect Households And Small Business\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-03-29T20:09:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":504,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/aer-energy-expectations-mb1464\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/energy-direction-australia.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; 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South Australia's Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) SA Power Networks (SAPN) had requested it be permitted to recoup $4,214.5 million from South Australian electricity customers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SA Power Networks - SAPN","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sapn-aer-electricity.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sapn-aer-electricity.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sapn-aer-electricity.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sapn-aer-electricity.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sapn-aer-electricity.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48283,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/energy-businesses-penalties-mb1910\/","url_meta":{"origin":38549,"position":1},"title":"Australian Energy Businesses Fork Out Millions In Penalties","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"March 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The mid-year compliance and enforcement update from the Australian Energy Regulator reveals energy businesses paid $4.38 million in penalties between July and December last year. The AER is tasked with monitoring and enforcing compliance with national energy laws and rules. Wholesale energy, energy networks and retail energy market regulation fall\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Australian energy business and AER penalties","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/energy-business-penalties.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/energy-business-penalties.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/energy-business-penalties.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/energy-business-penalties.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/energy-business-penalties.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":96400,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/ausgrid-community-power-network-mb3329\/","url_meta":{"origin":38549,"position":2},"title":"Green Light For Ausgrid Community Power Network Trial","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has granted New South Wales electricity distributor Ausgrid a controversial trial waiver so it can experiment with the co-ordination of community batteries and private solar power installations within part of its networks. What's Ausgrid's Community Power Network Trial (CPN) Involve? Essentially, the CPN will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Innovations&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Innovations","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-innovations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ausgrid Community Power Network Trial","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ausgrid-community-trial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ausgrid-community-trial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ausgrid-community-trial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ausgrid-community-trial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ausgrid-community-trial.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18518,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/sapn-electricity-distribution-mb0422\/","url_meta":{"origin":38549,"position":3},"title":"SA Power Networks&#8217; Bid To Increase Electricity Bills Defeated","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Another attempt by SA Power Networks (SAPN) to bump up the cost of electricity distribution (and consequently power bills) in South Australia has been defeated in the Federal Court. The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) regulates SAPN's annual revenue by setting the amount it can extract from electricity customers. SA Power\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SA Power Networks electricity distribution","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/sapn-electricity-distribution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/sapn-electricity-distribution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/sapn-electricity-distribution.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/sapn-electricity-distribution.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":86872,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-smart-meters-mb3015\/","url_meta":{"origin":38549,"position":4},"title":"Australian Smart Meter Rollout: When Will It Be Complete?","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"September 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Smart meters are transforming how Australians monitor and manage their electricity usage, especially for solar system owners. But how close are we to a full rollout, and what challenges remain? The Australian Energy Regulator published its 2024 electricity and gas networks performance report last week, which included an update on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Smart meters - Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/smart-meters-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/smart-meters-australia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/smart-meters-australia.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/smart-meters-australia.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/smart-meters-australia.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77773,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/aer-flexible-export-rules\/","url_meta":{"origin":38549,"position":5},"title":"AER Finally Gets to Work on Flexible Export Rules","author":"Finn Peacock","date":"August 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Regulations to govern Flexible Exports of household solar PV to the grid took a step forward this week when the AER published its \u201cfinal response\u201d to a consultation conducted late last year. According to the AER\u2019s media release, the response is part of the regulator\u2019s preparation of: \u201cregulatory arrangements needed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Inverters&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Inverters","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-inverters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AER flexible export limits paper","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/flexible-exports-aer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/flexible-exports-aer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/flexible-exports-aer.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/flexible-exports-aer.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/flexible-exports-aer.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38549"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38552,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38549\/revisions\/38552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}