Pricing third party access to essential infrastructure: Principles and practice

Third party access to the services of essential infrastructure facilities is a contentious issue acrossa range of core Australian industries, including gas and electricity supply. This articleinvestigates the complex task of setting access fees, since disputes between infrastructure ownersand access seekers typically centre on the price at which access will be offered. Against thebackground of the national access regime enacted by Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act 1974(Cth) and recent legal decisions, the article explains the competing methodologies by which accessprices are determined, and identifies the positive and negative aspects of each. While the articlecontends that there is no universally superior method for pricing third party access – rather, theappropriate approach will vary from case to case – certain policy recommendations in respect ofaccess pricing can be made