News Topic ID

Global commitment to international cooperation between energy regulators signed by Australia

31 October 2019

The Australian Energy Market Commission is Australia’s representative on the World Energy Council and is also a member of the steering committee for the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER) – actively engaging with other market bodies on sustainable development issues as renewables continue to penetrate the global energy mix.

On behalf of Australia, AEMC Chairman John Pierce last week signed the International Confederation of Energy Regulators’ updated global statutes.

ICER is a voluntary framework for cooperation between energy regulators from around the world, focussed on the exchange of information and collaboration to improve the effectiveness of energy regulation. It’s an international body whose membership includes more than 200 regulatory authorities from around the world. ICER’s aim is to improve policy-makers’ awareness and understanding of new thinking on energy regulation and explore best practice regulatory outcomes in an international context.

Australia is part of the 15-member ICER steering committee. Steering committee members participated in an official ceremony which updated the confederation’s statutes to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ICER’s foundation.

The updated statutes reinforce ICER’s commitment to international cooperation and actively promoting equal opportunities for women in energy.

John Pierce also presented on the Australian experience with system security and resilience to ICER’s V Foro Global de Energía (Fifth Global Energy Forum).

John’s speech explained the uniqueness of Australia’s ‘open source’ regulatory process where any and all stakeholders can request a rule change – and then outlined how new technologies are changing the way power systems operate with a focus on the absolute priority to make sure the costs to consumers are kept as low as possible as the energy system transforms.

“Investment in new forms of generation has been positive in that it has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector. But the types of generation that are being installed have different technical characteristics from the types of generation that have been retiring.

“Services that were once provided as a by-product of the technology producing energy are not being provided in the same way anymore. The system needs these services to continue to function,” Mr Pierce said.

He explained to his international colleagues how the AEMC, AEMO and the AER are working together to identify and address system security issues, and through a comprehensive work program have made significant changes to improve system security frameworks in the last two years.

The ICER steering committee meeting also initiated planning for the 8th World Forum on Energy Regulation which will be held in Peru in March 2021.

The AEMC would like to thank Mr Daniel Schmerler, Chair of the Steering Committee, his colleagues at Osinergmin, and the ICER Secretariat for their significant efforts in coordinating the Global Energy Forum and steering committee meetings.

Media: Prudence Anderson, Communication Director, 0404 821 935 or (02) 8296 7817

AEMC calling for nominations for members of the Reliability Panel

12 September 2019

The AEMC is seeking nominations from generation businesses, distribution network service providers and market customers to join the Reliability Panel for the next three years.

The Reliability Panel reviews and reports on the safety, security and reliability of the national electricity system and also sets a number of technical standards and guidelines.

The Panel is comprised of members who represent a range of participants in the national electricity market, including consumer groups, generators, network businesses, new technology, retailers and the Australian Energy Market Operator. It is chaired by AEMC Commissioner Charles Popple.

The current member for distribution businesses is Mr Trevor Armstrong from Ausgrid. The current member for market customers is Mr Richard Wrightson from AGL. Both of their terms expire on 31 December 2019. The previous member for generators was Mr Mark Collette from EnergyAustralia. Mr Collette has recently resigned from his role on the Panel, effectively immediately. The AEMC is therefore seeking to appoint a new generator representative as soon as possible.

More information about the appointment process is provided in this explanatory note. To nominate a representative for appointment to the Panel, please use the appropriate nomination form for DNSPs, market customers or generators.

Please respond with your completed nomination forms to panel@aemc.gov.au by 26 September 2019. If you wish to update your organisation’s contact details for the Reliability Panel nominations, please also send through the details to this email address.

We note that there has been a change in approach compared to previous occasions the AEMC has sought nominations for Panel representatives - the AEMC will no longer be contacting participants individually to seek nominations. Instead, this news announcement is the formal request for nominations.

For each nomination, we are seeking one response on behalf of each organisation registered as a participant in the national electricity market within the relevant class.

The Commission will contact registered DNSPs, market customers and generators separately in October to seek approval for the nominations made during the current stage of the appointment process. We will also publish notice of this in our newsletter and on the AEMC website.

For more information contact Victoria Mollard, Director – Security and Reliability (02) 8296 7872 or victoria.mollard@aemc.gov.au.

Media: Bronwyn Rosser, Communications Specialist, 0423 280 341; bronwyn.rosser@aemc.gov.au

AEMC welcomes new Commissioner

02 May 2019

AEMC Chairman John Pierce has welcomed the appointment of a new Commissioner to the AEMC.

The COAG Energy Council announced today that Ms Merryn York will join the Australian Energy Market Commission in late August, following the retirement of Commissioner Brian Spalding in April 2019. The appointment returns the total number of AEMC Commissioners to five.

Ms York has served as Powerlink’s Chief Executive since 2011 and was a member of the Reliability Panel from December 2012 to December 2015. Before joining Powerlink in 1995 she worked for the Queensland Electricity Commission.

“In addition to Merryn’s qualifications in electrical engineering and wealth of experience in system planning and operations, her familiarity with the AEMC and its processes should result in a seamless transition,” said AEMC Chairman John Pierce.

“Merryn brings to the role a consumer focus and firsthand understanding of the market participant’s experience in the transforming energy sector, which will complement the broad skillsets of her Commission colleagues.”

Commenting on her appointment, Ms York said that she is looking forward to her new role as a Commissioner at the Australian Energy Market Commission and involvement in the challenges of the rapidly changing energy sector.

Ms York’s five year term commences on 25 August 2019.

“On behalf of the current Commissioners, our Chief Executive Anne Pearson and the AEMC’s staff I would like to congratulate Merryn on her appointment and this new chapter in her career.”

Media: Prudence Anderson, Communication Director, 0404 821 935 or (02) 8296 7817.

Merryn York

Merryn has more than 30 years’ experience in the Australian energy sector, predominantly with Queensland’s electricity transmission network provider.

An electrical engineer by profession, Merryn has worked in all facets of transmission network service delivery including asset management, regulation, capital investment and governance, customer engagement and business development, and network planning and performance.

Since 2011 she has served as Powerlink’s Chief Executive, with a focus on leading the business in its transformation to align with the changing external environment and better meet customer expectations.

Before joining Powerlink in 1995, Merryn was the Queensland Electricity Commission’s Principal Engineer Grid Controls Planning.

Merryn has also served as an Energy Networks Australia (ENA) board member, and chaired the ENA’s Policy and Strategy Committee. She has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Electrical Engineering, a Master of Engineering Science, and a Graduate Certificate in Applied Law from the University of Queensland.

Meet our new directors

31 May 2018

We are pleased to introduce three new directors: Jackie Biro, Ben Davis and Sebastien Henry. Each is making valuable contributions to energy market development through the rule changes and reviews on which they work.

Jackie Biro, Director

Since joining the AEMC in 2016, Jackie has led the Reliability standard and settings review and a review of the Reliability Panel’s governance arrangements, with a focus on maintaining reliability at the lowest cost to consumers. She brings extensive policy experience, having led regulation and market reforms for the NSW Government across commercial, infrastructure, climate change and water portfolios.

Jackie previously worked for NSW Treasury, the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet and Sydney Water. She started her career in the not-for-profit sector. Jackie has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Sydney and a Master of Arts from the University of NSW.

Ben Davis, Director

Since starting at the AEMC in 2013, Ben has contributed to key rule changes including distribution network pricing arrangements, embedded networks and contestability of energy services. He has worked on a wide range of projects related to the AEMC’s power of choice and new technologies workstream which focus on giving consumers opportunities to make informed choices about how they use energy.

Ben previously worked for the Australian Energy Regulator and the University of Western Australia. Ben has a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) from the University of Western Australia.

Sebastien Henry, Director

Sebastien joined the AEMC in 2010 and has been involved in a number of major projects across different policy areas, including generator bidding behaviour and market power, retailer default and network reliability. He is currently working with the AEMC team responsible for keeping the system stable as newer technologies connect to the grid.

Sebastien’s past experience includes a price forecasting and risk analysis role within the market trading division of Eraring Energy. Sebastien has a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) and a Masters of Finance, both from the University of NSW.

AEMC reports and determinations will now be published on Thursdays

10 April 2018

From the week commencing 9 April 2018, AEMC announcements of statutory decisions will be published on our website on Thursdays instead of Tuesdays. This is because the publication day for the South Australian Gazette has changed.

Under the National Energy Laws, the AEMC is required to publish notices of key statutory decisions including the commencement of Rules, draft and final rule determinations and statutory time extensions in the South Australian Gazette.

This change does not affect the statutory deadlines for rule change processes that are already underway.

All new rule changes will commence on a Thursday and therefore have statutory deadlines that fall on Thursdays (e.g. deadlines for making of determinations and statutory extensions).

Notices of COAG Energy Council directed reviews will also be published on a Thursday. The AEMC’s e-newsletter will be sent to subscribers on Thursdays from this week on.

For a small number of rule changes already scheduled for April and May publication, the AEMC may ask the South Australian Gazette to publish a supplementary Tuesday issue in order to meet statutory deadlines. If this happens additional newsletters may be published during the week.

For more information:
Catriona Webster (02) 8296 7836

AEMC welcomes third 2018 graduate

20 February 2018

We are delighted to welcome Orrie Johan who joins Olga Iaroshevska and James Hyatt in the AEMC’s 2018 graduate program.

Orrie has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Affairs from the University of NSW and a Master’s degree in International Relations and National Security Studies from Georgetown University. Both degrees provided a focus on public policy, project management, microeconomics, statistics and analytical skills.

The AEMC’s graduate program offers the opportunity to work on a variety of rule changes and reviews of electricity and gas markets. Over the two year program graduates gain valuable experience in energy policy, economic analysis and power system transformation.

Our first two graduates, Declan Kelly and Thomas Lozanov, completed the program last year and are now working for the AEMC as Advisers in the Security and Reliability, and Retail and Wholesale Markets teams.

Applications for the AEMC’s 2019 graduate program will open in May 2018. For more information about working for us, visit careers.aemc.gov.au.

AEMC welcomes new graduate program participants

23 January 2018

The Australian Energy Market Commission has welcomed two new starters to our 2018 graduate program. James Hyatt and Olga Iaroshevska were selected from an extensive list of applicants.

James has a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales, majoring in renewable energy. Olga recently completed a Master of Environment, Energy Stream, at the University of Melbourne.

Applications for the AEMC’s 2019 graduate program will open in May 2018. For more information about working for us, visit careers.aemc.gov.au.

AEMC executive leadership team

16 January 2018

AEMC Chief Executive Anne Pearson is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Alan Rai as Acting Executive General Manager, Strategy and Economic Analysis.

Alan joined the AEMC as a Director in the Retail and Wholesale Markets team in September 2015. He has worked on a number of significant projects including the AEMC’s annual retail competition review, the integration of energy and emissions reduction policy and the 2017 strategic priorities for the energy sector. Alan has also played a key role in developing the AEMC’s graduate program and mentoring new employees.

Before joining the AEMC, Alan was a senior research economist at the CSIRO and lectured at Macquarie University. He also worked as an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia for seven years.

Alan has a first class Honours degree in Finance and Economics from Macquarie University and a PhD in Economics from the University of NSW.

We are also announcing that after almost four years with the AEMC and a three month transition, Executive General Manager Chantelle Bramley has commenced a new role in the energy industry. We thank Chantelle for her inspiration and leadership and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours.

For more information contact:

AEMC Chief Executive, Anne Pearson (02) 8296 7800
AEMC Communications Director, Prudence Anderson (02) 8296 7817 or 0404 821 935

Commonwealth Government Announces a National Energy Guarantee

17 October 2017

The Energy Security Board (ESB) has provided the COAG Energy Council with advice on changes to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and legislative framework. This follows AEMO’s advice to the Federal Energy and Environment Minister on matters relating to dispatchable capability in the National Electricity Market.

The ESB specifically provided recommendations to support the provision of reliable, secure and affordable electricity with a focus on ensuring:

the reliability of the system is maintained
the emissions reduction required to meet Australia’s international commitments are achieved
the above objectives are met at the lowest overall costs.

A copy of the ESB letter to Energy Ministers is available here.

Media: Prudence Anderson, Communications Director, 0404 821 935 or DL (02) 8296 7817

Guide for stakeholders on the rule change process

20 June 2017

The Australian Energy Market Commission today published a second guide to assist stakeholders understand particular aspects of our work. The guide outlines the process for making changes to energy market rules.

It was developed in consultation with consumer groups, industry and other energy market participants, and includes tips for stakeholders on how to submit a rule change request or lodge a submission. It also sets out how we engage with stakeholders to enable meaningful input that helps shape our thinking.

The guide has two parts:

the first part outlines the processes involved in a rule change, from the initial rule change request to submissions, and tips for stakeholder engagement at each stage. It also provides the context for our processes such as our legal obligations and the value of early engagement.
the second part describes instances where the standard rule change process may differ and highlights our rationale for this.

One of the things that makes Australia’s energy market framework particularly unique is that reform is in everyone’s hands.

Any stakeholder including governments, industry and consumers can request rule changes. The AEMC cannot propose rules, except for minor changes such as corrections.

The Commission considers the guide to be a 'living' document which will be refined and updated over time. We welcome stakeholder feedback. Any questions or comments should be directed to Tom Walker (tom.walker@aemc.gov.au) or aemc@aemc.gov.au or phone 02 8296 7800.

The first guide in the series, on how the AEMC applies the national energy objectives in our rule changes, reviews and advice to government, is available here.

Media: Prudence Anderson, Communications Director, 0404 821 935 or (02) 8296 7817

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