The AEMC today made a final rule for the Australian Energy Market Operator to establish a register of distributed energy resources in the national electricity market, including small scale battery storage systems and rooftop solar.

The register will give network businesses and AEMO visibility of where distributed energy resources are connected to help in planning and operating the power system as it transforms. 

The register will primarily be compiled using data collected by network businesses through existing processes. The final rule also allows AEMO to incorporate any other relevant data it receives, for instance from the Clean Energy Regulator or state safety regulators, where appropriate.

The new register must be in place by 1 December 2019. The transitional provisions, which will commence on 18 September 2018, include an obligation on AEMO to make and publish the first information guidelines for the register by 1 June 2019.

This rule change follows work by the COAG Energy Council’s Energy Market Transformation Project Team on the benefits of a register of small scale battery storage systems. It also builds on a Finkel Review recommendation to develop a framework for collecting information on distributed energy resources.

This work is part of the AEMC’s System security and reliability program. 

Media: Bronwyn Rosser, Communications Specialist, 0423 280 341 or (02) 8296 7847, bronwyn.rosser@aemc.gov.au