The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has made a final rule to improve the planning and visibility of the electricity grid, as consumer energy resources (CER) such as rooftop solar, home batteries, and EVs reshape the way power is generated, stored, and used.
The AEMC’s final determination and more preferable final rule respond to a rule change request from Energy Consumers Australia.
The new rule creates a pathway to a clearer picture of how CER is reshaping local networks, through a new reporting framework for more consistent and transparent distribution network data.
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Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) will also need to prepare and publish a new Distribution Network Development Plan (DNDP) with a 20-year outlook, giving a clearer long-term view of how local networks are expected to change with the uptake of CER.
AEMC chair Anna Collyer said the new rule sits at the centre of the Commission’s CER reform program and has far-reaching implications.
“Some of the biggest changes in the energy system are now happening in the parts of the grid we have historically been least able to see,” Collyer said.
“So, this rule is about making the invisible visible, as well as providing better long term insights into what CER means for network development.”
All households and businesses can share in the benefits of better informed and targeted investments to the grid, with network costs accounting for up to half of a typical power bill.
Better local data can help unlock more value from household batteries, and identify where community batteries or EV chargers would deliver the greatest benefit.
It also allows energy service providers to offer more tailored products and services that better meet the needs of their customers.
This final rule is part of a broader AEMC reform program to modernise the energy system around consumers and their consumer energy resources.
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“Our rule change to accelerate the deployment of smart meters establishes the digital foundation to integrate rooftop solar, batteries and EVs into the wider system,” Collyer said.
“But their real value can only be enabled when that data is understood and coordinated across the energy system.”
