In developing our priorities for 2024-25, we have considered our objectives and the emerging critical areas to support a successful transition of the sector. We have also considered the challenges and opportunities identified in our work on an AEMC narrative as part of work on our strategic refresh.
The eight challenges and opportunities identified in our narrative will be a contextual guide for our priorities over the longer term.
We will continue to set annual rule change and review priorities to guide our work program in the short term (12 months).
Our 2024-25 priorities are outlined below. Please note, these priority areas are not exclusive. The AEMC will continue to consider prioritisation of rule changes when requested by Energy Ministers, if critical to the functioning of the energy system or if there is a threat to vulnerable consumers.
Consumers
This priority's intent is to progress work relating to urgent issues for consumers under the regulatory framework, including how we inform, empower and protect customers individually and as a collective.
Key projects include:
- Pricing for a consumer driven future review
- Acceleration of smart meter deployment rule change
- Access to real time consumer data rule change
- Understanding consumer behaviour and preferences internal project
Consumer Energy Resources (CER)
This priority’s intent is to progress work relating to the technical aspects of CER including the efficient integration of new technologies into the market and system.
Key projects include:
- Integrating price responsive resources rule change
- Unlocking CER benefits rule change
- Leading the Distribution System Operator workstream for the CER taskforce
- Contributing to EV work via the CER Taskforce and our consumer pricing review
Long-Term Market Design
This priority’s intent is to progress work relating to longer-term market design to ensure our frameworks provide the appropriate reliability settings, efficient provision of system services and investment signals for the net-zero future.
Key projects include:
- Preparing for the future of gas, including stage two gas reform rule changes
- Technical access standards rule changes
- Efficient provision of inertia rule change
- Cyber security roles and responsibilities rule change
- Our internal project on future wholesale market design
- Understanding the impact of a changing climate on the reliability, resilience and security of the energy system
Transmission
This priority’s intent is to progress work relating to the cost-effective and efficient delivery of major transmission and network infrastructure.
Key projects include:
- Outstanding rule changes from the Transmission Planning and Investment Review
- Providing flexibility in the allocation of interconnector costs rule change
- Improving regulatory frameworks for non-networks options rule change
- Transmission access reform
- Inter-regional settlement residue arrangements for transmission loops rule change
- ISP rule changes
Our workplan for 2024-25 – 25 rule changes in 25
As part of our work in reviewing our strategy and in feedback from you, our stakeholders, we understand that there is a growing backlog of rule changes. This means it has taken us longer than we have hoped to initiate and complete rule changes we have received.
At the start of 2024-25 the AEMC has over 50 rule changes that have been submitted that are either pending or we have commenced. Our current approach sees us complete between 15 to 20 rule changes per annum, depending on the complexity of the rule change and other priorities. We recognise that many stakeholders believe the AEMC is undertaking this work too slowly. Rule changes submitted to the AEMC have grown over the last few years and now are averaging approximately 20 to 25 per annum. To help address this issue, the AEMC has introduced a self-initiated rule change target for 2024-25.
The target for 2024-25 will be to complete 25 rule changes and five reviews – a 30% increase on our rule change throughput in the past two years. We intend to update our progress on this target over the course of the year. Achieving this target will require us to evolve the way we undertake our work. Just as the sector needs to evolve, so to do we. This will mean different approaches to undertaking our work. Where we are trying something different we will be clear upfront so you know what to expect. In doing this we remain committed that all our decisions will continue to deliver long term benefits to energy consumers and align with our statutory duties and responsibilities.
In response to feedback received as part of developing our rule-change and review priorities for 2024-25, the AEMC has published a high-level work plan to support our stakeholders in coordinating their participation in and contribution to rule change and review projects throughout the year.
2024-25 AEMC high-level work program
Given the evolving nature of our work and the pace and scale of the transformation of the sector, we periodically review our work program to make sure we focus our resources and expertise most appropriately.
At our mid-year review some previously prioritised projects were deferred to allow for work on priority rule changes received between July and November 2024.
The table below outlines the projects that have been deferred beyond 2024-25:
Project | Reason for deferral |
RRC0064: Better protections for life support customers | Resources reallocated to commence work on ECMC package of seven consumer rule changes. The focus of this rule change is on improving the overall administration of life support customers. Given the intent of the rule change, the Commission will commence it in early 2025-26. |
ERC0356: Amending the calculation of the cumulative price | Both of these rule changes have linkages to the Reliability Panel’s work on reliability standards and settings. The Panel’s work will commence on this in early 2025-26. There is a synergy in delaying their commencement until this work also commences. In addition, more urgent rule change requests have been received with the resources initially allocated for these rule changes reallocated to commence work on the following :
|
ERC0374: CPT calculation during administered scheduled pricing | |
EMO0047: Billing Data Transparency | Work being undertaken by other agencies has continued to progress the issues outlined in the work of the Energy Security Board. Resources have been reallocated to commence the urgent ECMC package of seven consumer rule changes. |
RC0355: Conditions for generator protection systems | Deferred to commence after work on ERC0393: Improving NEM access standards - Package 1 is complete. |
ERC0361: Definitions of protection system requirements |
These rule change requests will be considered to commence from 1 July 2025 as part of our 2025-26 annual rule change and review prioritisation process.
Please note, this work plan is indicative only and subject to change. Any updates to the work plan and timing of projects will be communicated via the AEMCs newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.