Gas Market Reform Group
The Gas Market Reform Group (GMRG) was active from 2016 to 2019, and undertook extensive policy design, development and implementation work to deliver its objectives.
The GMRG was established by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council to lead the design, development and implementation of a range of reforms set out in the Gas Market Reform Package. These included:
- a new information disclosure and commercial arbitration framework for non-scheme pipelines (see Information disclosure and arbitration framework below)
- the capacity trading reform package (see Pipeline capacity trading framework below), which provides for:
- the development of a capacity trading platform
- a day-ahead auction of contracted but un-nominated capacity
- a reporting framework for secondary capacity trades
- the development of standard terms to facilitate the trade of transmission pipeline and compression services
- the development of the terms of reference for the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) biennial review on the growth in liquidity in wholesale gas and pipeline capacity trading markets.
The GMRG was also tasked by the Prime Minister to work with the ACCC on options to improve the level of transparency across the gas supply chain.
Read more
Documents produced by the GMRG and information provided by stakeholders in response to consultation processes are available in Trove.
See more about the GMRG at the archived GMRG website.
Information disclosure and arbitration framework
Measure 4 of the COAG Energy Council’s Gas Market Reform Package directed the Independent Chair of the Gas Market Reform Group to:
'Examine the current regulatory test for the regulation of gas pipelines, in consultation with stakeholders, and provide recommendations on any further actions to the Energy Council, including potentially replacing the test.'
The outcome of this examination was the design and implementation of a framework which specified information disclosure requirements and established a negotiation and arbitration framework for non-scheme pipelines, under Part 23 of the National Gas Rules.
Pipeline capacity trading framework
The capacity trading reform package was recommended by the AEMC as part of its Eastern Australian Wholesale Gas Market and Pipelines Framework Review (East Coast Review) and endorsed by the COAG Energy Council at its August 2016 meeting. The GMRG commenced work to design the package of reforms in February 2017.
