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Transmission access reform Consultation paper – May 2022

Publication date

ESB is undertaking a comprehensive stakeholder consultation on new arrangements for managing congestion in the National Electricity Market. The access reform work strand seeks to promote investment certainty, manage access risk, boost operational efficiency and incentivise technologies that alleviate congestion.

These reforms are needed to provide a stable foundation for investment in State REZ schemes. The ESB has released a consultation paper that seeks feedback on four shortlisted models that have been developed through significant stakeholder consultation:

Investment timeframes  

Operational timeframes  

Congestion zones with connection fees  

Investors receive clear up-front signals about which network locations have available hosting capacity.   

CMM with universal rebates  

Establishes a single, combined-bid energy and congestion market   

Transmission queue  

Investors that connect in uncongested locations receive priority rights. 

Congestion relief market (CRM)  

Changes to the market and settlements to provide separate revenue streams for energy and congestion relief.  

In assessing preferred models put forward in response to the project initiation paper published in November 2021, the ESB considered the key challenges and trade-offs associated with each model and particularly looked at how the models could support and strengthen State REZ schemes to ensure coordination across the NEM. 

Going forward, the ESB will continue to work with stakeholders to develop these models to a sufficient level of detail to support a recommendation to Ministers. The ESB anticipates that detailed design will be a hybrid model that incorporates one of the investment models and one of the operational models set out in this paper. 

It will be necessary to strike a balance between giving investors flexibility to connect where they want and protecting investors from excessive congestion. The latter will also protect consumers, since excessive congestion increases costs for them, either through having to use electricity from more expensive generators or through building greater network capacity. 

Next steps

The ESB is undertaking further detailed design work on their proposal. This will include comprehensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders and interested parties. The key milestones for the congestion management detailed design process are set out below:

Milestone

Indicative timing

Project initiation paper

18 November 2021

Public webinar on project initiation paper

26 November 2021

Submissions due on project initiation paper

28 January 2022

Open seminar on alternative options for congestion management

24 February 2022

Consultation paper

5 May 2022

Submissions due on consultation paper

10 June 2022

Draft recommendations for detailed design

September 2022

Submissions due

October 2022

Submit proposed rule change to Energy Ministers

Early December 2022

Documents

Attachment Size
Transmission access reform Consultation paper 1.87 MB
ACCIONA Energia Response to transmission access reform consultation paper May 2022 374.84 KB
ACEN Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 635.77 KB
AEC Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 163.08 KB
AGL Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 19.34 KB
Alinta Energy Response to Transmission Access Reform Consultation Paper May 2022 111.49 KB
Australian Aluminium Council Response to Response to Transmission Access Reform Consultation Paper May 2022 779.54 KB
Australian Financial Markets Association Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 188.59 KB
CEC Cover Letter_ CEC Submission Access reform June 2022 274.36 KB
CEC CRM Demonstration Model _2 Node Model 50.29 KB
CEC CRM Demonstration Model_4 Node Model 109.01 KB
CEC CRM formulation and simple example models 437.5 KB
CEC Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 3.26 MB
CEC The Modified CRM model 3.75 MB
CEIG Response to transmission access reform consultation paper May 2022 1.25 MB
CS Energy Limited Response to Transmission Access Reform Consultation Paper May 2022 623.75 KB
Delta Electricity Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 202.49 KB
EA Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 340.71 KB
Edify Energy Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 158.21 KB
ENA response Transmission Access Reform consultation paper May 2022 222.66 KB
Energy Queensland Response to Transmission Access Reform consultation paper May 2022 131.5 KB
ENGIE Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 183.53 KB
EUAA Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 369.82 KB
Finncorn Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 375.08 KB
Flow Power Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 142.18 KB
Fluence Response to Transmission Access Reform Consultation Paper May 2022 1.14 MB
Hydro Tasmania Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 1008.92 KB
NEOEN Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 1.06 MB
Origin Energy Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 159.55 KB
Shell Energy Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 185.76 KB
Snowy Hydro Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 1.15 MB
Stanwell Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 261.03 KB
Tesla Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 493.77 KB
Tilt Renewables Response to transmission access reform Consultation Paper May 2022 229.47 KB

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