Tuesday, 30 May 2023

Energy Legislation Amendment (Electricity Outage Emergency Response and Other Matters) Bill 2023

Introduction and first reading

The PRESIDENT (12:13): I have a message from the Assembly:

The Legislative Assembly presents for the agreement of the Legislative Council ‘A Bill for an Act to amend the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 and for other purposes’.

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:13): I move:

That the bill be now read a first time.

Motion agreed to.

Read first time.

Jaclyn SYMES: I move, by leave:

That the second reading be taken forthwith.

Motion agreed to.

Statement of compatibility

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:14): I lay on the table a statement of compatibility with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006:

In accordance with section 28 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, (the Charter), I make this Statement of Compatibility with respect to the Energy Legislation Amendment (Electricity Outage Emergency Response and Other Matters) Bill 2023.

In my opinion, the Energy Legislation Amendment (Electricity Outage Emergency Response and Other Matters) Bill 2023, as introduced to the Legislative Council, is compatible with human rights as set out in the Charter. I base my opinion on the reasons outlined in this statement.

Overview of the Bill

The Bill makes amendments to the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001. These amendments will introduce reforms in the Electricity Industry Act 2000 to mitigate against the significant adverse impact of an electricity outage emergency, clarify how fees are set under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment Act 2022, which was enacted in August 2022 but has not yet commenced operation, and amend the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 to clarify the powers of the Essential Services Commission under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007.

Part 2 of the Bill will introduce reforms directed towards mitigating the harm of electricity outage emergencies, by:

• enabling the Secretary of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to direct distribution companies to support people impacted by an electricity outage emergency. This support may include, but is not limited to, the giving of specified information to DEECA, or requiring a distribution company to support relief activities and programs;

• providing a process for and requirements relating to, the giving of a direction, including matters that the Secretary must consider before giving a direction;

• providing that distribution companies must comply with a direction, and that failure to do so can incur a civil penalty.

Human Rights protected by the Charter that are relevant to the Bill

The human rights protected by the Charter that are relevant to the Bill are –

• right to privacy and reputation (section 13).

For the following reasons, I am satisfied that the Bill is compatible with the Charter and, if any rights are limited, those limitations are reasonable and demonstrably justified having regard to the factors in section 7(2) of the Charter.

Privacy and reputation

Section 13(a) of the Charter provides that a person has the right not to have their privacy, family, home or correspondence unlawfully or arbitrarily interfered with. An interference with privacy will be lawful if it is permitted by a law which is precise and appropriately circumscribed, and will be arbitrary only if it is capricious, unpredictable, unjust or unreasonable, in the sense of being disproportionate to the legitimate aim sought. An interference with privacy will not be arbitrary provided it is reasonable in the particular circumstances.

Provision of affected customer supply information, relevant customer information for payment schemes and prescribed information

In Part 2 of the Bill, new section 109E(1) provides that the Department Head of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (that is, the Secretary) may give a direction (emergency direction) to require a distribution company to do things specified in the emergency direction where the Department Head is satisfied that an electricity outage emergency is occurring, or has occurred within the previous two months. To issue an emergency direction, the Department Head also needs to be of the opinion that giving the direction to the distribution company is reasonably necessary to mitigate against the significant adverse impact of the electricity outage emergency on affected customers of the distribution company.

Section 109E(2)(a) outlines that the Department Head may, in an emergency direction, require a distribution company to provide information to the Department Head that is specified in the direction. This information may include ‘affected customer supply information’. ‘Affected customer supply information’ is defined in new section 109D to mean information relating to the supply of electricity at the premises of an affected customer. This is defined to include:

• the addresses of the premises at which an affected customers is supplied electricity;

• information as to whether electricity is being supplied to the meter at the premises of an affected customer; and

• information as to whether an affected customer is a life support customer.

‘Affected customer’ will be defined in new section 109D to mean a deemed customer of the distribution company who is or has been affected by a disruption to the distribution or supply of electricity. ‘Deemed customers’ of a distribution company are retail customers who are deemed to have entered into a contract with the distribution company under section 40A of the Electricity Industry Act 2000.

New section 109E(2)(c) also provides that the Department Head may require a distribution company to provide specified relevant customer information to DEECA to support the administration of a payment scheme. Under the Bill, distribution companies may be asked to assist with the processing of applications and making payments under payment schemes that may be accessed by affected customers in an electricity outage emergency. Relevant customer information may include the names and addresses of affected customers, the number of occupants of premises of affected customers, information as to whether electricity is being supplied to the meter at the premises, and other prescribed information relating to affected customers held by the distribution company.

Information that may be required to be provided to the Department Head under an emergency direction issued in reliance on section 109E(2)(a) and 109E(2)(c) may, therefore, include personal information of affected customers.

Section 109L of the Bill will also enable the Department Head to share such information with public sector entities where the Department Head is of the opinion that it is reasonably necessary to enable the recipient to perform functions to mitigate against the significant adverse impact of an electricity outage emergency.

To the extent that the information empowered to be collected under emergency directions and shared with public sector entities for the purposes of mitigating against the significant adverse impact of an electricity outage emergency includes personal information, the Bill will engage the right to privacy.

Any limit on the right to privacy by Part 2 of the Bill is reasonable and justified

Although these provisions permit the Department Head and public sector agencies to deal with personal and identifying information, I do not consider these dealings are unlawful or arbitrary.

The circumstances in which information can be collected is limited to the purposes for which the power is granted. The Department Head may only require provision of such information in a direction if the Department Head is of the opinion that its provision is reasonably necessary to mitigate against the significant adverse impact of the electricity outage emergency on affected customers of the distribution company.

Similarly, disclosure of any information (including personal information) is limited to where Department Head is of the opinion that it is reasonably necessary to enable the recipient to perform functions to mitigate against the significant adverse impact of an electricity outage emergency. Under new section 109L the Department Head may only disclose the information collected under new Part 6AB to public sector entities. Information will be disclosed to these entities to enable them to perform their functions during emergency response operations. The information will not be published or available to the community at large.

The collection of information pursuant to directions under section 109E, and any disclosure of information collected via those directions, are measures only able to be drawn upon in the context of an electricity outage emergency to assist the emergency management response and the planning and management of relief and recovery activities. This is so that they can assist in the mitigation of the adverse impacts of an electricity outage emergency on the customers whose information is collected.

Further, DEECA and each relevant agency that is a public entity or public service body within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004 are bound by the requirements of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 and must ensure that any collection, use or disclosure of information is undertaken in accordance with the Information Privacy Principles set out in Part 3 of that Act.

In addition, information collected under section 109E(2)(c) is to enable DEECA to review this information to assist in confirming whether an affected customer is eligible for a payment scheme for which they have voluntarily applied.

Accordingly, in my view, these provisions will not be an arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, as any collection and disclosure of personal information authorised by these amendments will only occur to the extent considered necessary to mitigate against the significant adverse impacts of an electricity outage emergency.

The Hon. Ingrid Stitt

Minister for Early Childhood and Pre-Prep

Minister for Environment

Second reading

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (12:14): I move:

That the bill be now read a second time.

Ordered that second-reading speech be incorporated into Hansard:

This Bill has two important purposes. The first purpose is to amend the Electricity Industry Act 2000 to enable electricity distribution businesses to be directed to provide government with information and assist in relief efforts following energy emergencies and associated prolonged power outages. Electricity distribution businesses hold key information and resources to assist in emergency response and recovery. While we as a community expect them to voluntarily provide this information and resources, there may be instances where they need to be required to do so.

In recent years we have seen the disruption and devastating impacts that storms and associated power outages have on affected Victorians. Unfortunately, the severe weather events that result in these outages are likely to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. The increased likelihood of severe storms and resulting power outages makes progressing this reform a critical priority.

The second purpose of the Bill is to amend both the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 to strengthen compliance with the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, which delivers cost savings on energy for Victorian consumers and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

June and October 2021 storms

In June and October 2021, severe storms caused widespread and prolonged power outages across Victoria. Following the June storms, 68,000 customers were without power after 72 hours and 9,000 customers were still without power seven days after the event. Additionally, following the October storms, nearly 24,000 customers remained off supply 72 hours after and just over 2,500 customers were still without power seven days after the event. In both instances, the power outages were more prolonged compared with previous storm events.

The experience of these storms highlighted the limits to getting critical information from electricity distribution businesses to support relief activities and programs for customers. A subsequent external review was undertaken to identify priority reform measures and policies to enable distribution businesses to mitigate the risk of, and better respond to, prolonged power outages in the future.

Review of Victorian electricity distribution businesses’ network resilience obligations

In August 2021, the Victorian Government commissioned the Electricity Distribution Network Resilience Review in response to the devastating storms of June 2021. An Expert Panel was appointed to investigate how distribution businesses can improve their preparedness for, and response to, prolonged power outages caused by storms and other extreme weather events.

The Expert Panel found that the participation of distribution businesses in emergency response and recovery was not delivering positive outcomes for impacted customers. Victorian customers were provided with mixed messaging on power restoration times, insufficient relief measures, and were disregarded during emergency operations. We know there will be more extreme weather events due to the effects of climate change, and so our Government is committed to finding a range of solutions to prepare and protect consumers in energy emergency situations.

Creation of directions power

The Bill amends the Electricity Industry Act 2000 to provide the Secretary of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action with a new power to direct distribution businesses where there is an emergency power outage. First, a direction may compel electricity distribution businesses to provide information to the Secretary to assist in emergency management operations. Second, a direction may compel electricity distribution businesses to support and administer relief programs and payments to their impacted customers during and following a prolonged power outage. Failure to comply with a direction could attract a civil penalty of more than $200,000, reflecting how serious the impacts of non-compliance can be for affected customers.

Recognising that the core role of distribution businesses during and after a prolonged power outage emergency includes the restoration of power, the Bill provides that the directions power can only be exercised if the Secretary considers it reasonably necessary to mitigate against the significant adverse impacts of an electricity outage. The direction can also only be given if the Secretary is satisfied that an electricity outage emergency is occurring, or has occurred within two months prior to the direction being given.

Other reforms relating to the Victorian Energy Upgrades program

The Bill will amend the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 to allow for the Minister to directly set fees for the Victorian Energy Upgrades program instead of having these fees prescribed through regulations.

The Bill will further amend the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 to clarify that the Essential Services Commission has powers to apply civil penalties in relation to the Victorian Energy Upgrades program.

These amendments to the Victorian Energy Upgrades program will further strengthen the program’s delivery of cost-saving outcomes to Victorian customers and align the program’s effectiveness in lowering greenhouse gas emissions from continued use of legacy equipment in Victorian households and businesses.

I commend the Bill to the house.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:14): I move, on behalf of my colleague Mr Davis:

That debate on this bill be adjourned until the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to and debate adjourned until next day of meeting.