Today, the Utility Regulator has published a Cost and Performance Report for gas transmission services in Northern Ireland.
This report, covering the period from October 2017 to September 2022, provides our assessment of the gas transmission system operators (TSOs) and the Gas Market Operator (GMO) for Northern Ireland’s performance during the five-year period of the recently completed price control, GT17.
We regulate the revenue that gas TSOs and the GMO for Northern Ireland receive through price controls, which identifies their expected levels of expenditure. The GT17 price control ran for five years from October 2017 to September 2022.
We use information returns and the Cost and Performance Report to account for delivery against the price control. In overall terms, GT17 can be considered very successful. Key points include:
- GMO has been implemented effectively and has delivered cost savings.
- RIGS (Regulatory Instructions and Guidance) reporting has been useful in providing clarity on costs and outputs.
- TSOs have been effective in delivering either below or close to budget and collaborating for the benefit of the industry.
- However, some concern remains including the GNI (UK) (Gas Networks Ireland) deferred repex programme and the MEL (Mutual Energy Limited) budget revisions for unforeseen projects.
Supporting cost tables can be accessed here.