We have publicly released the first stakeholder rule request arising from the AEMC’s Reliability frameworks review.

The Reliability frameworks review was released on 26 July with a major recommendation for adoption  of a new mechanism for energy users to sell demand response in the wholesale market – which will be informed by trials run by AEMO and ARENA. A demand response mechanism is part of a package recommended by the AEMC to remove barriers to demand response and provide additional tools to undertake  more demand response.

The proponents of this rule request, PIAC, TEC and the Australia Institute were all part of the review consultation. They let us know quite early during review consultation that they were interested in making a rule request in line with the Reliability frameworks review’s recommendations. And we are very pleased to have received their request so promptly after the review’s finalisation. 

The Reliability frameworks review considered the role for a demand response mechanism reflecting structural change now underway in the wholesale sector. Specifically the review articulated the need for a demand response mechanism to be:

• Scheduled - able to be centrally dispatched, and visible to the market operator and other market participants in order to improve the efficiency of demand response dispatch.
• Accessible to consumers - so they could participate without relying on retailers for permission (making it mandatory for retailers to participate in mechanism). 
• Designed in a way that could contribute to the reliability of the power system.

I invite you to participate in consultation when the project initiates.

Suzanne Falvi