The cautionary note on "not expecting before then any true guide to trends" was issued today by Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) Chairperson, Mr Lew Owens.

"Experience interstate has shown that it takes considerable time for a new state-based retail electricity market to establish, start maturing and for consumer trends to emerge," Mr Owens said.

"While ESCOSA has commenced work on an initial market assessment with a view to annual reports in November each year, the South Australian retail electricity market is still in its infancy so the 2003 assessment will be indicative, at the most," he said.

Some initial limited survey work is being undertaken this year, covering customer awareness of the ability to switch retailers, future intentions and the extent to which customers are receiving offers from retailers.

From next month, ESCOSA will issue regular reports on the extent to which customers are switching to market-based contracts and the level of retailer participation in the market.

"However, the result next year will be the litmus test as the market will be nearing two years of deregulation and studies to assess consumer patterns will more closely detail population preferences on retail power suppliers, services, products and pricing," Mr Owens said.

The framework adopted by ESCOSA for assessing the effectiveness for households and small businesses of competition in South Australia's retail electricity market, was developed after extensive public consultation earlier this year.

Mr Owens said the framework included particular provisions to assist ESCOSA monitor the extent to which low-income groups in South Australia are benefiting or otherwise from competition.

A range of key indicators will be monitored as part of the annual assessment process, including: The level of retailer activity; Extent of customer awareness; Extent of customer switching from standard contracts to market-based contracts; The extent and nature of offerings made by retailers; and barriers to entry faced by retailers.

Detailed analysis, incorporating the results of survey work, will be released in November of each year, to coincide with the annual performance report by ESCOSA on retail market participants.