EUAA Submission: AER Initial Draft Decision – Marinus Link
Emily Wood | August 15, 2025
While Marinus will effectively be funded by the Federal Government, there is still a need to ensure costs are reviewed and oversighted as the Construction Costs will ultimately be paid for by consumers.
‘… The EUAA has been a member of the Marinus Link Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP) for a number of years and would like to commend Marinus Link (and their predecessors Tas Networks) for the engagement process they have undertaken which has been detailed (where they have been able to1) and consumer driven to the extent other arrangements allow. We are especially pleased that, at the strong urging of the CAP, Marinus Link delayed their initial proposal to the AER until such time they were able to gain a clearer understanding of Cap-Ex. We now see that the Cap-Ex being presented to the AER for initial assessment2 is an Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) Class 2 estimate, which we believe should be the benchmark for all future proposals.
It must be recognised that the process being undertaken by the AER and consumers in assessing Marinus Link is unique in a number of ways.
Firstly, while the AER will still play a critical role in determining if costs are prudent and efficient (which is different to assessing net benefits), it is our view that the decision to proceed (or not) is largely a political one and was made well before the AER, or consumers had a chance to fully assess costs, risks and net benefits. While the details of the arrangements between three governments (Federal, Victorian and Tasmania) is opaque, it is clear that all three have agreed to proceed with a cost allocation arrangement that will supersede the usual allocation of costs between jurisdictions as determined by energy flows. It appears this arrangement is in place to shield Tasmanian energy users from higher costs than they otherwise would have borne….’
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