The Reliability Panel has found that the National Electricity Market (NEM) continued to meet reliability standards in 2024-25, despite the growing complexity of the energy transition.
The findings, released in the annual NEM Reliability and Security Report (RASR), show recent reforms appear to be addressing immediate system security challenges.
However, they also underscore the need for timely investment in new generation, storage, networks and essential system services ahead of further coal plant closures.
Reliability Panel Chair Rainer Korte said that the report highlights priority areas for industry and policymakers.
"There were no breaches of the reliability standard or interim reliability measure in the 2024-25 financial year, and we saw a record amount of renewable generation enter the grid," Mr Korte said.
"Timely entry of new assets is crucial for both reliability and system security.
"Delays in the construction of key generation, storage and transmission infrastructure can result in the delay of coal exits, primarily to ensure power system security can be maintained until adequate replacement assets are complete."
The report also emphasises the importance of consumer energy resources (CER), such as rooftop solar, home batteries and electric vehicles, to the power system.
CER makes up a growing proportion of generation in the NEM. Unlocking these resources can provide substantial power system and consumer benefits. It can also help mitigate the challenges to system security and reliability that CER might otherwise impose.
Periods of very low demand on the grid increased in FY2025, driven by continued growth in rooftop solar - even as investment in battery storage rose by 40 per cent and efforts to better coordinate CER progress.
"Effectively leveraging CER has become essential to maintaining a reliable, secure, but also efficient power system," Mr Korte said.
"We are seeing investment in battery storage accelerate due to the Federal Government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program. Integrating them to unlock their full potential for the benefit of consumers and the system is a high priority and must be progressed at speed, including through well-designed incentives and virtual power plants (VPPs)."
The Reliability Panel found fewer extreme wholesale price spikes in FY2025, but an increase in both high and negative price periods.
The drivers of these price outcomes varied across regions, pointing to investment opportunities across a range of technologies and locations.
Overall, the NEM's security performance was assessed as satisfactory, with only two instances where the power system was not in a secure state for more than 30 minutes.
One important factor in keeping the system secure is inertia. Inertia helps slow down sudden changes in electricity frequency when something goes wrong, giving operators time to respond and prevent outages.
For the first time, the Reliability Panel has reported on new measures to assess whether operational procurement of inertia could be cost‑effective compared to the current contracting approach. It is now asking for feedback on whether these measures should be used in future reports.
More about the Reliability Panel and the RASR
The Reliability Panel comprises representatives from across the NEM, including small and large consumers, generators, distributed energy resources, networks, retailers and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
The RASR was formerly called the Annual Market Performance Review. It is conducted by the Reliability Panel in line with the National Electricity Rules and terms of reference issued by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC).
In April, the Panel released its final recommendations for the 2026 Reliability Standard and Settings Review (RSSR). It recommended a modest adjustment to the reliability standard to reflect increasing costs and changing consumer preferences, and no changes to market price settings. These recommendations will apply from 1 July 2028 to 30 June 2032.
Visit the project page for more information on the review and for contact details.
Media: Jessica Rich, 0459 918 964, media@aemc.gov.au