Transmission access reform Consultation paper – May 2022

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:

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: