Renewable Age can complete and sign off your annual compliance report for ESCOSA (Essential Services Commission of South Australia) by being approved by the Commission as your external and independent auditor. We have been carrying out annual compliance reporting for our SA clients since 2018. For the 2020/21 compliance period, we were approved by the Commission as the external and independent auditor for twelve utility-scale solar farm generators in South Australia. These annual compliance reports were completed on time and to the satisfaction of ESCOSA and our clients.
Licensed entities in SA can sign off their own annual compliance reports, but this must be done by an external director, and the bar is set very high by ESCOSA to be classed as external, hence they can often struggle to find suitable external directors to sign off their reports. You essentially can’t be an employee of the licensee, or any related body corporate, to meet the external director criteria detailed in clause 3.11 of the ESCOSA guidelines. An external and independent auditor, once approved by ESCOSA, can carry out the annual compliance audit, as well as sign off the annual compliance report, without the need to appoint an external director or external compliance committee member.
We can also assist with ESCOSA licence applications for new generators in SA, and Office of the Technical Regulator (OTR) SRMTMP (safety, reliability, maintenance and technical management plan) audits.
Summary of Services
- Annual compliance audits
- Annual compliance report signoff
- New electricity generation licence applications (required in SA for projects greater than 100 kVA – currently temporarily suspended for sub-5MW projects – see below)
- SRMTMP audits
News – Sub 5MW Licence Exemptions
The Minister for Energy and Mining in South Australia has given all new sub-5MW electricity generation projects in SA a temporary class exemption from the requirement to hold an electricity generation licence, as of 12 November 2021. The exemption remains in effect until 30 November 2023.
ESCOSA advises that “during this time, the Department of Energy and Mining will be reviewing the licensing framework set out in the Electricity Act 1996 to determine if changes are required, including whether a permanent exemption for Sub 5MW Operators is warranted. The Department will shortly release an Issues Paper for stakeholder consultation.”
ESCOSA Feedback
Annual compliance report for client A: “All complete & well presented.” – ESCOSA, 24th August 2021
Annual compliance report for client B: “Once again, a very thorough and well-presented submission.” – ESCOSA, 31st August, 2021