Q20) Is there a possibility Alt HAN may never actually deliver a viable solution, that it may just be an expensive experiment?

Alt HAN is important because it seeks to ensure that no classes of customers, for example residents in high-rise apartment blocks, are left behind in the rollout of smart metering functionality and the service improvements that this can support. The solutions in development by Alt HAN use proven technologies and will be rigorously tested before being rolled out at scale. From an economic perspective, there are controls in place to ensure costs are kept to efficient levels, and that these costs are acceptable. For example, Alt HAN Co must demonstrate that its costs are “economic and efficient”, and there are annual and milestone-specific mechanisms to approve budgets. Government can also reduce the scope of Alt HAN if it concludes, based on evidence, that the costs of delivering Alt HAN solutions are “disproportionate” for certain classes of premise.