Interim Reliability Measures
In November 2019, Energy Ministers requested that the Energy Security Board (ESB) provide advice on the implementation of interim measures to improve reliability during the transition to the Post‑2025 market design. This included reviewing the reliability standard to maintain community confidence in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and to support the transition towards renewable generation.
Acting on the advice of the ESB, Energy Ministers agreed to:
- establish an out-of-market capacity reserve (an ‘Interim Reliability Reserve’), triggered to keep unserved energy (USE) to no more than 0.0006% in any region in any year
- amend triggering arrangements for the Retailer Reliability Obligation (RRO) to be based on a breach of 0.0006% USE, and to decouple the T-1 instrument from the T-3 instrument.
The National Electricity Amendment (Interim Reliability Measure) Rule 2020 and National Electricity Amendment (Retailer Reliability Obligation trigger) Rule 2020 were introduced in August and November 2020, respectively, to support the measures agreed to by Energy Ministers.
In August 2020, the ESB sought approval to defer the proposed rule changes to decouple the T-3 instrument from the T-1 instrument of the RRO, while broader work on resource adequacy in the context of the Post-2025 Market Design project was undertaken. The council agreed with the recommendation, and this work has been deferred.
Further information on the Interim Reliability Measures can be found at the links below.
- ESB Advice – Review of the Reliability Standard
- Decision Paper – Interim Reliability Measures – RRO Trigger (Recommendation for National Electricity Amendment (Retailer Reliability Obligation trigger) Rule 2020)
- National Electricity Amendment (Retailer Reliability Obligation trigger) Rule 2020
- Decision Paper – Interim Reliability Measures – Interim Reliability Reserve (Recommendation for National Electricity Amendment (Interim Reliability Measure) Rule 2020)
- National Electricity Amendment (Interim Reliability Measure) Rule 2020
- Interim Reliability Measure – Response to submissions