NIRC Commissions Electricity Tariff Review
Published on 02 May 2025
Following a resolution made at Norfolk Island Regional Council’s January meeting, NIRC has commissioned independent consulting firm Qubist to review electricity tariffs and general electricity service provision on Norfolk Island.
At the January 2025 Council meeting, Administrators Scott Mason and Gary Mottau agreed to a partial increase in the daily charge for electricity users that was less than the amount recommended by Council officers. The proposed increase in charges was tabled in response to unbudgeted costs that were not being met from the electricity business unit.
The Administrators further resolved that independent advice be sought in regard to tariff structures and rebate levels that were both responsible and offered the most benefit to energy generators, consumers and the service provider of electricity on Norfolk Island.
Qubist is an advisory firm that provides expertise to clients with utility and infrastructure assets and will operate separately from NIRC and Incite Energy/Besy. Two of their consultants, Chris Amos and Petra Quartullo, will be on-island between 12 and 16 May as part of the independent review of the electricity tariff structure.
As part of the tariff review, Qubist will be looking at equity of costs/prices between solar/battery owners, legacy solar system owners and those without either solar or batteries; and the dynamic nature of the tariffs, and how that impacts on end users.
During their visit, they will be gathering information about our electricity infrastructure, building a profile of production, supply and cost of electricity, and meeting with a wide range of stakeholders from across the community.
Chris and Petra are inviting feedback from consumers, businesses, solar and battery owners, electrical contractors and any other electricity stakeholder who wishes to participate in the tariff review process. This is also an opportunity for feedback on all areas of the electricity service provision, which may include billing, service reliability and customer service.
Appointments can be made with Chris and Petra during their visit between 12 and 16 May, or you can write them a submission by contacting them on email at chris.amos@qubist.com.au or petra.quartullo@qubist.com.au.
Alternatively, you can contact Chris by phone on +61 411 250 102. Where possible, group sessions will be held with stakeholder groups, including different consumer types.
The review process is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete, and the resulting report will be presented to Council at a future meeting.