The Australian Energy Market Commission today proposed a 12 month deadline for electricity generators to detail the content of existing performance standards for the national electricity market and foreshadowed a new penalties regime by June 2008.
The Commission also proposed a joint AEMC-AER working group to help co-ordinate a comprehensive reform program which it has outlined to strengthen processes and procedures for performance standards compliance monitoring, notification and rectification and to review the scope and content of underlying technical standards for power system plant.
These reforms are proposed in a report issued today for public comment concerning the Review of enforcement and compliance with technical standards.
The Ministerial Council for Energy (MCE) directed the Australian Energy Market Commission in November 2005 to review the enforcement and compliance regime for the technical standards contained in the National Electricity Rules. The Review’s draft report was submitted to the MCE as directed in May 2006 and released on 13 June 2006 for public comment.
The AEMC has engaged in extensive consultation with industry and regulators in the preparation of this draft report and now calls for public submissions on the report’s recommendations. The Commission will then start its final analysis and expects to make a final report to the MCE in September 2006.
Submissions on the draft report are due on 25 July 2006.
The draft report concludes that high levels of compliance with effective performance standards are crucial to ensuring power system security in the National Electricity Market.
The report has identified a series of improvements that can be made in the prevailing standards system and recommended a three step solution to the Ministerial Council for Energy which will improve the regulatory framework on standards and deliver effective regulation of individual market participant performance standards.
Step 1: To deliver fully documented performance standards for existing generating plant in addition to an upgraded compliance and enforcement regime by June 2007.
Step 2: To review the adequacy of penalties for breaches of performance standards by June 2007. This is recommended in line with the Commission’s view that that the adequacy of penalties and proposals to increase them should be addressed after performance standards themselves are revised and established.
Step 3: To fully review the underlying technical standards regime (and processes for the regime’s ongoing revision) by June 2008. Complementary reviews to be undertaken by the AEMC and the Reliability Panel.
For more information contact
AEMC Chairman, John Tamblyn (02) 8296 7800
AEMC Public Affairs, Prue Anderson (02) 8296 7800 or 0404 821 935