On 29 September 2022 the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) Reliability Panel (the Panel) published the final report and final revised guidelines for identifying reviewable operating incidents (the guidelines). The final report and guidelines set out the Panel’s final changes to the guidelines. The updated guidelines will be effective from the date of publishing the final report and revised guidelines on 29 September. 

The Panel considers the revised guidelines will better contribute to achieving the National Electricity Objective (NEO) and improve the efficiency of the guidelines by ensuring only necessary reviews are undertaken. This will minimise participant costs and ensure the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) resources are allocated efficiently.

The AEMC issued terms of reference to the Panel on 30 March that requested the review be completed by 31 August. As a result of the expanded review scope, the Panel requested the AEMC extend the review by 4 weeks to provide time to seek feedback from AEMO and form final positions on these issues. The AEMC’s approval of the extended timeline for the review can be found on this page. 

The review of the guidelines commended on 30 June 2022 when the Panel published a draft report and guidelines outlining the Panel’s proposed changes. Publication of the draft report was followed by 4 weeks of consultation and stakeholders were provided the opportunity to give feedback on the Panel’s proposed changes to the guidelines.

Background

Under the National Electricity Rules (NER), AEMO is required to review serious power system security incidents ‘reviewable operating incidents’ and publicly report its findings. 

Reviewable operating incidents are sufficiently serious to be ‘significant’ events on the power system that impact system security. The NER set out criteria to determine which operating incidents are 'reviewable'.

The Panel is responsible for publishing the reviewable operating incident guidelines that are used by AEMO to determine when a power system security incident is considered a 'reviewable operating incident'. The guidelines provide additional details and criteria for AEMO to apply when determining whether a security event is reviewable under the NER. 

AEMO’s reviewable operating incident reports provide highly valuable information to policymakers, market bodies, market participants, jurisdictions, and the Panel to understand system security risks in the NEM. These reports also provide an opportunity for AEMO to evaluate procedures, systems, and responses to such events and any potential improvements that could be made following a reviewable operating incident.