News

CEG Asia Pacific is seeking exceptional and highly motivated economists to join our Sydney team. Positions are available for both recent graduates and applicants with up to two years’ work experience. Applications are also welcome from graduates completing their degree at the end of 2013.

CEG is a leading international economic consultancy that provides economic and financial advice on regulatory, competition and damages matters to regulators, government departments, law firms and some of Australia’s largest corporations. We offer challenging and rewarding career opportunities for graduates and recent graduates looking to work at the forefront of applied microeconomics in Australasia.

Your responsibilities will include economic research, data analysis and report writing. You must be capable of working independently and as part of a team. We look for individuals with:

• outstanding tertiary qualifications in economics to honours or post-graduate level with at least a distinction average (or equivalent)
• excellent verbal and written communication skills
• exceptional analytical and quantitative skills
• an interest in applying the latest ideas in economics to solve real world problems

Demonstrated capabilities in advanced microeconomics, econometrics and/or financial economics would be highly regarded.

CEG offers flexible working conditions, a highly competitive remuneration structure and the opportunity to work on high profile competition, regulation and damages projects in a collaborative environment.

Please provide a cover letter, CV and academic transcript as part of your application.

The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has determined that Ofcom should reduce the charges for Wholesale Line Rental and Local Loop Unbundling services. The Ofcom media release is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific economists Paul Reynolds and Daniel Young provided expert witness statements for Everything Everywhere in relation to the appeals.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has published a Final Determination on the potential generator market power rule change request. The AEMC recommended that energy ministers consider conferring on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) a specific function to report on whether the wholesale electricity market is operating efficiently. The AEMC Final Determination is available here.

The AEMC commissioned CEG Asia Pacific to write a report on barriers to entry in electricity generation. The CEG report is available here.

CEG opens a new London office on 1 May. The office will be at 1 Fetter Lane.

The Hong Kong Communications Authority has closed the second round of submissions on the arrangements for the frequency spectrum in the 1.9 – 2.2 GHz band upon expiry of the existing frequency assignments for 3G Mobile Services.

CEG’s report on this issue is available here.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) have registered a new commercial radio advertising code that requires advertisements on commercial radio to be distinguishable to listeners as advertising. This decision follows ACMA’s decision in 2011 that the standard would be revoked in the commercial radio industry presented a code of practice that provided appropriate community safeguards. The media release from ACMA is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific advised Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) on the review of Commercial Radio Standards. CEG’s 2011 report is available here.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has released its Final Decisions on the price reviews for the three Victorian gas distribution service providers SP AusNet, Envestra and MultiNet and the gas transmission service provider, APA GasNet. The decision determines prices for the Victorian gas distribution and transmission networks for the next five years. The decision results in a slight reduction for prices charged by all businesses except Envestra. The AER final decision is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific advised the Victorian gas distribution and transmission service providers on the weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

New Zealand Communications and Information Technology Minister Amy Adams has announced that the scheduled reviews of the regulatory framework for telecommunications services are to begin immediately. The first review relates to the Telecommunications Service Obligations (TSO) required under section 101A of the Telecommunications Act 2001. The second review is wider in scope and involves the policy framework for regulating telecommunications services in New Zealand. The media statement from the Minister is available here.

Chorus has welcomed the Minister’s announcement to bring forward a review of the regulatory framework. Chorus’ media statement is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific is an economic adviser to Chorus.

The Electricity Authority (EA) in New Zealand has proposed material changes to the Transmission Pricing Methodology (TPM). Most significantly, it plans to merge the high voltage direct current (HVDC) link and interconnection charges and to recover a proportion of the required revenue from parties deemed to be ‘private beneficiaries’ of certain investments. It proposes to use this ‘beneficiaries pays’ approach to set prices for new assets and for investments made since May 2004 exceeding $2 million. This already encompasses a significant proportion of the grid and, in time, will capture all of it.

CEG Asia Pacific was commissioned by Transpower New Zealand to conduct the economic review. CEG’s report is available here.

CEG's Nils von Hinten Reed, Tom Hird, Jason Ockerby and Barbara Veronese have been included in Global Competition Review's International Who's Who list of Lawyers and Economists 2013.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has released its final decision on the wholesale price for access to Chorus’ unbundled copper local loop (UCLL). The new geographically averaged price is $23.52 per month per line. This price will come into effect on 1 December 2014. This price is a 3.85% reduction on the prices set in 2007 ($24.46). The UCLL final decision is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific advised Chorus Ltd in regards to the UCLL re-benchmarking review.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has proposed a full UBA price of $32.45 per month per line to come into effect on 1 December 2014. Until that time, the cost of UBA will remain at the current price of $44.98 for most lines. The Commerce Commission’s draft UBA decision is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific advised Chorus Ltd in relation to the UBA benchmarking review.

The New Zealand Commerce Commission has issued a Final Determination which resets the default price-quality paths to apply the Input Methodologies for the first time. The Commission states that the most notable features of the reset are the new starting prices based on the current and projected profitability of each supplier. The Commission’s Final Decision is available here.

CEG Asia Pacific advised Vector Ltd on the default price-quality paths.

CEG will on 1 December move to Avenue Louise 367, B-1050 Brussels. The main telephone number will be +32 2 642 0017.

PGNiG has settled its Swedish UNCTAD arbitration with Gazprom on the basis of market prices. Nils von Hinten Reed was the expert for PGNiG. The outcome is considered a substantial success by the client PGNiG.

The opposing party, the Swiss energy conglomerate-Alpiq Ltd, asserted a claim against Poland for over $200 million euros. CEG was retained as a rebuttal expert for the Government of Poland to provide an hour-by-hour analysis of the European electricity market and an opinion of damages. The tribunal found for Alpiq on liability, however awarded just $38 million euros in damages plus interest, a fraction of the damages claimed. The client considers this a substantial win.

Michael Dunbar has been recognized as among the world’s 78 leading arbitration expert witnesses in the Global Arbitration Review’s "International Who's Who of Commercial Arbitration 2012."

CEG congratulates Cosmote on the successful conclusion of the Romanian 4G auction. Cosmote increased significantly their spectrum holdings by securing licences for spectrum use in all of the four bands, 800 MHz , 900 MHz band, 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz. CEG experts Maarten Janssen and Barbara Veronese advised Cosmote on auction design and bidding strategy.