ETEF Deferrals No Longer Surprise

It was announced today that the NSW Treasurer (in consultation with the Minister for Energy) has cancelled the scheduled September 2009 and March 2010 Electricity Tariff Equalisation Fund (ETEF) roll-offs. ETEF will now remain fully in force until 30 June 2010. The announcement was made in a special supplement to the NSW Government Gazette for 10th July 2009

Four of the five original ETEF reduction dates have now been abandoned, the most recent in January (see earlier article ETEF Deferred Again which includes further information on the operation of the fund).

The change involves an amendment to the table in clause 2.1.1 of the Electricity Tariff Equalisation Fund Payment Rules. Interestingly, while Treasury have removed the September 2009 and March 2010 reduction dates, it has also removed the explicit 0% rate that previously applied from the 27th June 2010 onwards. Thus the rules no longer explicitly state that ETEF will not continue past 30th June 2010.