The Commission's Rule as made adopts the position of the AER's Rule change request.

The Commission considers that the Rule as made will, or is likely to contribute to the achievement of the NEO as: 

• additional time will allow the AER to gather the necessary information and adequately consider high price events to publish a report that is useful to market stakeholders. This should result in better information being provided to the market. Improved information to the market, at the margin, should improve decision making by market participants and policymakers, and better inform policy and regulatory responses to high price events. Consequently, the Rule change will or is likely to promote efficient investment in, and operation of the market with potential price based benefits; and
• it will, or is likely to, marginally contribute to productive efficiencies in the National Electricity Market (NEM) by providing increased certainty to market participants and policymakers on the publication of the report. The additional time should assist market participants to better plan or manage their own actions in response to the information contained in the report.

Background

On 17 June 2010 the Commission gave notice under sections 95 and 96 of the National Electricity Law (NEL) of its intention to initiate: 

• the assessment of the Timing for spot price reporting Rule change request submitted by the AER under the expedited Rule change process; and
• public consultation on the proposed Rule.

The proposed Rule sought to extend the timeframe for the AER to publish a report on the trading intervals in which the spot price exceeds $5,000/MWh from within 20 business days of the end of the week in which the spot price exceeded $5,000/MWh, to within 40 business days of the end of the week in which the spot price exceeded $5,000/MWh.Written objections to the expedited process were due by 1 July 2010. No objections were received.

Submissions to the proposed Rule were due by 15 July 2010, and two submissions were received.