The Australian Energy Market Commission (Commission) has made a rule which delays by one hour the time at which a call notice issued by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is taken to have been issued on the next business day.

The Commission has made the rule as proposed by AEMO in its rule change request. The rule as made will commence on 1 July 2014.

The Commission is satisfied that the rule as made will, or is likely to, contribute to the achievement of the National Electricity Objective (NEO) because:

• it is likely to reduce the risk that a call notice is issued because a market participant is experiencing administrative rather than financial issues, without impacting the level of risk of a market participant accruing significant liabilities before it is suspended from trading in the NEM; and
• it is likely to reduce the costs for AEMO and market participants associated with managing the prudential requirements in the NEM.

The Commission’s consideration of the rule change request proceeded on an expedited basis. A consultation paper was published on 1 May 2014 and submissions closed on 29 May 2014. One submission was received regarding the rule change request, which is available on our website.