INDEPENDENT PRICING AND REGULATORY TRIBUNAL
OF NEW SOUTH WALES

NEWS RELEASE

Retail Gas Prices � Country Energy
EMBARGO: 10:00AM,  Friday 21 December 2001

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) today issued its final report on retail prices for residential and small business gas consumers supplied by Country Energy (formerly Great Southern Energy Gas Networks) in the Wagga area from January 2002.

A set of voluntary pricing principles agreed to by the Tribunal and Country Energy are set out in the report.  Prices for residential and small business gas customers will increase only moderately between now and the middle of 2004. The maximum increase in the annual bill for residential gas customers will be $20 or 5 per cent above the CPI.  Many customers will experience increases less than this maximum amount.  Customers will also pay for approved costs associated with introducing retail competition.

The report sets out prices under Voluntary Pricing Principles until June 2004.  The New South Wales Government has made clear its preference for Gas Pricing Orders over Voluntary Pricing Principles, and the Tribunal intends to issue a Gas Pricing Order once the NSW Ministry of Energy and Utilities completes a review of the process by which these should be issued.

The report and the voluntary pricing principles are available on IPART�s website (www.ipart.nsw.gov.au).  

Contacts:
Dr Tom Parry (Chairman)             Ph: (02) 9290 8411
Mr James Cox (Member)             Ph: (02) 9290 8491

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