The primary role of the Technical Regulator is to ensure the safety of workers, consumers and property, and to ensure compliance with legislation and technical standards and codes throughout the electricity and gas industries.
The Office of the Technical Regulator was established under the Electricity Act 1996 and the Gas Act 1997 .
On this page:Appliances Installations Utility infrastructure Electricity entitity auditingFunctions under the Electricity Act 1996Functions under the Gas Act 1997Functions under the Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000Appliances
The Office of the Technical Regulator (OTR) is the regulatory body that monitors and enforces the compliance of electricity and gas appliances with safety and technical standards. Safety and energy efficiency approval and certification of appliances is also a function of the OTR.
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Installations
Promoting, auditing and enforcing the compliance of electricity and gas installations with safety and technical standards is an important function of the Office of the Technical Regulator.
The OTR also administers a mandated certificate of compliance scheme to ensure that electrical and gas workers and contractors comply with legislated requirements including appropriate national technical standards.
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Utility infrastructure
The Office of the Technical Regulator is responsible for ensuring the safety of gas and electricity supply as well their compliance with technical standards. This includes:
- electricity generation
- transmission and distribution
- gas distribution.
Electricity entity auditing
The Office of the Technical Regulator conducts safety and technical audits of electricity entities operating in South Australia. The audits cover selected safety and technical areas in the operation of the entities.
Every electricity entity operating in South Australia is audited over a two or three year cycle. Details of audits carried out by the OTR are published in the OTR's annual reports.
The OTR has established guidelines for conducting safety and technical audits. The guidelines are generally based on Australian standards for auditing quality systems.
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Functions under the Electricity Act 1996
The principal functions of the Office of the Technical Regulator under the
Electricity Act 1996 are:
- monitoring and regulation of safety and technical standards in the electricity supply industry
- monitoring and regulation of safety and technical standards relating to electrical installations
- administration of the provisions of the Act relating to clearance of vegetation from powerlines
- fulfilling any other function assigned to the Technical Regulator under the Act.
Functions under the Gas Act 1997
The main functions of the Office of the Technical Regulator under the Gas Act 1997 are:
- monitoring and regulation of safety and technical standards in the gas supply industry
- monitoring and regulation of safety and technical standards relating to gas installations and gas appliances
- provision of advice in relation to safety or technical standards in the gas supply industry to the Essential Services Commission (ESCOSA) at the commission’s request
- fulfilling any other function assigned to the Technical Regulator under the Act.
Functions under the Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000
Under the Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000, the Office of the Technical Regulator is responsible for the:
It is also responsible for the registration of electrical products for minimum energy performance standards (MEPS).
Under this Act, the office has the authority to monitor and audit showrooms to ensure the application of relevant safety and energy efficiency labelling on products that are displayed for sale. The OTR has the authority to prohibit the sale of unsafe electrical products.