Market Review: Open
Overview
The Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) review into consumer energy resources (CER) technical standards in the National Electricity Rules (NER) is focused on the implementation of CER technical standards.
The review is considering:
- compliance with, and enforcement of, CER technical standards in the NER
- the interpretation of standards by national electricity market (NEM) participants and other relevant stakeholders
- interactions between the NER and other regulatory regimes that require compliance with CER technical standards.
Improving compliance with CER technical standards will benefit all electricity consumers in the NEM. This is because more CER devices will behave as expected, supporting distribution network service providers (DNSPs) and the NEM’s market operator in operating the electricity system and planning for its future needs.
Dual approach to draft recommendations
The AEMC has made 12 draft recommendations for immediate action that seek to increase future and existing compliance with CER technical standards.
It has also made a draft recommendation that jurisdictions and energy market bodies work together to explore the options and viability of reforming the regulation of current and future CER technical standards from a national perspective.
This dual approach — of immediate compliance improvements and more significant regulatory reform actions — acknowledges the difficulties associated with the existing regulatory frameworks that sit across the AEMC’s jurisdiction as well as that of state and territory governments.
Written submissions on the draft report are due by COB 25 May 2023, with the final report to be published in mid-2023.
Broader efforts to integrate consumer energy resources
The AEMC’s review into CER technical standards is part of a broader package of projects to better integrate CER devices. These reforms are being undertaken by energy market bodies and the ESB, cooperatively, to realise the opportunities presented by CER for all energy consumers.