The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has today announced it will extend the time that it will take to publish a draft determination on proposals to better integrate distributed energy resources into the electricity system.
The rule change requests were proposed by SA Power Networks, St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria and the Australian Council of Social Services jointly with the Total Environment Centre.
There has been strong interest in the proposals and the extension will allow us to continue working with stakeholders on how the regulatory framework can be updated to support the integration of distributed energy resources in a way that benefits all customers.
The draft determination will now be published 25 March 2021.
We have also consolidated the three rule change requests so they will be considered together as they deal with similar issues.
Distributed energy resources (DER) include rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles and energy management systems. These resources are often located on the consumer’s side of the meter, rather than as a centralised generation source, and are growing in Australia as consumers become more active in the power system.
“Finding solutions to enable the grid of the future is a priority for us,” AEMC chief executive Benn Barr said.
“We want to see a gateway to an expansion of solar and other distributed technologies that also ensures that everyone reaps the benefits of innovation.
“Australian consumers are clearly enthusiastic adopters of distributed energy resources such as solar. As distributed resources continue to grow, the time has come to integrate them properly and in a way that ensures all users benefit from their uptake and that the appropriate consumer safeguards are in place.”
“It is very important to get this right and planning ahead will avoid technical problems, keep costs down and speed up the decarbonisation of the energy sector.”
Background
The rule change requests were received in early July 2020.
They were a result of detailed work undertaken over nine months by a broad collaboration of stakeholders seeking to address consumer-driven power system change through the Distributed Energy Integration Program.
The rule change requests are aimed at better facilitating the efficient integration of DER for the grid of the future.
The proposed changes include:
- Pricing and incentive arrangements for distributed energy resources.
- Allowing distribution network service providers to charge for exports to the network.
- Planning and access to the grid for DER.
The AEMC published a consultation paper on 30 July 2020 seeking stakeholder feedback.
We also held a public webinar on 13 August 2020. We received numerous submissions in response to the consultation paper and held four technical working group meetings to discuss the issues raised in the proposals with a broad range of industry experts.
A link to a consumer FAQ document is here.
Media: Kellie Bisset, Media and Content Manager M: 0438 490041 T: (02) 8296 7813