The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a draft determination proposing to grant authorisation with a condition for five years to Energy Networks Australia, Synergy, and other specified parties to allow for the procurement and implementation of a national ‘public key infrastructure’ service (PKI).
The PKI service would manage secure communication between consumer energy resources (CER) and parties in the energy grid. Examples of CER include rooftop solar cells, batteries, and electric vehicles.
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“This public key infrastructure service will enable distribution network service providers to remotely limit or prevent electricity export into the grid by consumer energy resources in times of significant excess production, known as an ‘emergency backstop’ mechanism,” ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams said.
Where power exports from CER are high and general energy consumption is low, there are risks to electricity grid stability and the potential for localised or wider blackouts to occur.
“While several state and territory governments have already implemented emergency backstop mechanisms, this service would give effect to a singular national approach to managing CER devices via communication protocols to avoid risks to electricity network system overload,” Dr Williams said.
Currently, each distribution network service provider is responsible for procuring its own PKI solution for emergency backstop. Under the proposed conduct, however, providers could choose to utilise a national PKI delivered by a single provider.
The creation of a national entity to manage PKI for CER for emergency backstop is reflective of a national reform priority agreed to by federal and state/territory governments in 2024.
“We understand that a national regulatory framework for CER to set and enforce technical standards is being established as part of the national CER Roadmap and that whilst this is a more appropriate avenue for regulatory oversight of CER, we understand the current urgency around emergency backstop requirements,” Dr Williams said.
“We are satisfied the proposed conduct is likely to result in a public benefit that would outweigh any potential public detriment to Australian consumers. Prior to making our final determination, however, we will be seeking further views on a number of potential public benefits and detriments,” Dr Williams said.
The ACCC considers that the proposed conduct is likely to result in public benefits in the form of interoperability, cost savings for distribution networks, lower costs and complexity for manufacturers and installers, and increased consumer choice and device mobility.
However, the proposed conduct is likely to reduce competition for the acquisition and supply of public key infrastructure services. As it also has the potential to result in public detriment due to a lack of formal external oversight, the ACCC is proposing a condition requiring regular reporting of NEPKI’s operations.
While there is some benefit in the proposed conduct enabling the public key infrastructure solution to expand to future use cases autonomously, it also has the potential to result in public detriment. To mitigate this, the ACCC is considering whether to limit authorisation to the ‘initial use case’ (i.e. solar cell and battery energy storage system orchestration via CSIP-AUS for emergency backstop and dynamic operating envelopes).
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The ACCC has also granted interim authorisation to enable Energy Networks Australia and Synergy to carry out the initial three phases of activity while the ACCC considers the substantive application.
Submissions to the ACCC can be made by 2 June 2025. More information can be found on the ACCC’s public register here.
