Announcement date
26 May 2022
Link to announcement
Enhancing Information on Generator Availability in MT PASA
Problem being addressed
The ongoing transition of the power system has contributed to a lack of detailed information on generator availability, which is becoming an increasing issue as older generators approach the end of their technical life. As a result, the operators may shift to cyclical operating regimes where they only generate energy for certain periods of the year. This causes uncertainty amongst participants and stakeholders on why and for how long particular generators are unavailable and the challenge of operating the power system to deliver reliable, secure supply is expected to grow. Without comprehensive, standardised and public information to provide a more nuanced view of future unit availability, AEMO, participants and other stakeholders will likely face increasing time and resource costs.
Proposal
On 15 December 2021, the AEMC received a rule change request from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). AEMO proposed increasing the scope of information that is gathered from generators regarding their availability under the existing medium term projected assessment of system adequacy (MT PASA).
The draft rule builds on existing MT PASA requirements by requiring generators to provide additional information in the form of a unit state and a unit recall time, to ensure that participants are sufficiently informed about generator availability to help them make decisions about supply, demand and outages of transmission networks. The draft rule progresses one of the Energy Security Board’s (ESB) post-2025 recommendations to improve resource adequacy in the National Energy Market.
Stakeholder Engagement
The AEMC released a consultation paper on 3 February 2022 seeking stakeholder feedback on the identified problem, AEMO’s proposed solution and any alternatives. Based on the stakeholder feedback the AEMC considered whether the rule change will promote information transparency, higher productivity, effective market competition and increase reliability and security outcomes.
Stakeholder feedback was predominantly concerned with the potential overlap with existing obligations. The AEMC considered that the information via the MT PASA is distinct from existing requirements as it would be more granular, and it would be collected and published in a standardised way.
Assessed RIS outcome
Compliant Consultation RIS