Fairness needs to be at the forefront of the energy market
It is our firm stance that fairness should be at the forefront of all markets.
In our comment on the Energy Security Board (ESB) Post 2025 Market Design Issues Paper (Issues Paper), Consumer Action seeks to stress the importance of the principle of fairness in ensuring market design meets community expectations.
It is particularly concerning to see that fairness of outcome is not included in the proposed assessment framework for evaluating market design options. When applied to any Post-2025 Market Design, fairness of outcome would recognise the differences between consumers, the needs all consumers have for ongoing access to essential energy services and the need for appropriate cost allocation as well as the sharing of benefits between all consumers where these result from reform and technology advancements.
Not only is fairness important to meet community expectations, treating customers fairly contributes to the long-term interest of firms and the economy more broadly. It is increasingly recognised both in Australia and internationally that firms need to be promoting not just the interests of shareholders, but the interests of the wider community, in particular customers to whom they supply goods and services.
You can read the full submission here [PDF].
