The AEMC has today released an update on its work on wholesale pricing and transmission access in the national electricity market. This reform is designed to lower the costs and risks of getting new generation and battery storage into the grid.
The COGATI (coordination of generation and transmission investment) reform changes the market to make sure that new generation and storage are connecting to the power system in the right place and at the right time to meet future needs.
At its meeting in November 2019, the COAG Energy Council agreed that it will consider the COGATI final report at its March 2020 meeting. The final report, to be delivered in March, will include details on the proposed access model as well as an implementation pathway to embed it into the rules and the market.
The update paper revises the date for the implementation of the access model to being at least four years after the time that any rule change to deliver the access model is finalised. This will allow the implementation to be aligned and better coordinated with other reforms, including those under the Energy Security Board’s post-2025 market design project.
Between now and March 2020, the Commission will continue to consult extensively with stakeholders about the Commission’s proposals. This consultation will include several targeted workshops with government, market bodies, consumer groups, industry and other stakeholders, including a fifth meeting with our technical working group. Beyond March 2020, the Commission envisages that there will be considerable additional scope to discuss the merits of, and refine, the access model through a rule change process.
We are also in the process of modelling the costs and benefits of the reform. Findings from this work will be provided in the final report next March.
For more information
This review is part of the AEMC’s strategic priorities action plan to address generation access and transmission pricing, the integration of distributed energy resources, and aligning financial incentives for market participants with physical needs of the power system.
Media: Kellie Bisset, Media and Content Manager, 0438 490 041; (02) 8296 7813