Market Advisory Committee meetings held between January 2024 and December 2024

Key agenda items:

Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) Investment Certainty Review:

• An update on the initiative to provide WEM specific support for renewable generation including discussion on:
  • eligibility and recovery of costs of WEM renewable support payments;
  • options for timing the commencement of WEM renewable support payments; and
  • options for completing the WEM renewable support design.

Power System Security and Reliability (PSSR) Standards Review

• An update on the commencement of Stage 3 of the review – developing design proposals for a single end-to-end PSSR standard and framework.

2024 Supplementary Capacity Review:

• The Coordinator of Energy has initiated a review of the supplementary capacity provisions to determine whether:
  • the supplementary capacity provisions require improvements; and
  • the improvements introduced by the 2023 supplementary capacity review have provided better outcomes for the latest supplementary capacity process.

Integration of small aggregation Demand Side Programmes (DSPs) in the Reserve Capacity Market (RCM)

• Part 1 of this project investigated short-term changes to allow aggregated DSPs to register in the 2024 Reserve Capacity Cycle.
  • The Coordinator of Energy has introduced transitional exemptions to allow the entry of aggregated loads participating as a DSP in the 2024 Reserve Capacity Cycle, to ensure that these loads can participate in the RCM, to ensure less reliance on these other more expensive emergency processes, such as Supplementary Capacity and Non-Cooptimised Essential System Services.
• Part 2 of this project will investigate and implement longer-term changes to allow aggregated DSPs to register in the 2025 Reserve Capacity Cycle and onwards.

Key agenda items:

Wholesale Electricity Market Investment Certainty Review:

• The release of the Commonwealth Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Western Australian Design paper and an overview of the proposed design and rollout in WA.
• The design criteria and the overall approach for the top-up of Wholesale Electricity Market revenues for renewable generators to address the risk that the renewables may not recover enough revenue to justify investment.

Review of the Essential Systems Services Framework:

• The Coordinator of Energy is conducting a review of the Essential System Services Framework, incorporating:
  • a review of the Essential System Services Process and Standards as required by Section 3.15 of the Wholesale Electricity Market Rules; and
  • a review of the Supplementary Essential Systems Services Procurement Mechanism
• Energy Policy WA has developed a Scope of Work and Terms of Reference for the establishment of a Working Group for the MAC’s consideration.

Benchmark Reserve Capacity Price WEM Procedure Review:

• The Chair of the Benchmark Reserve Capacity Price Wholesale Electricity Market Procedure Review Working Group will provide the Economic Regulation Authority’s review of the Methodology.

Wholesale Electricity Market Procedure Content Assessment:

• An updated Terms of Reference for the Wholesale Electricity Market Procedure Content Assessment Working Group

Key agenda items:

WEM Investment Certainty (WIC) Review :

• The draft WIC Review consultation paper sets out the findings and proposals for Initiatives, 1,2,4 and 5 of the WIC Review

Power System Security and Reliability (PSSR) Standards Review including:

• An overview of Stage 1 – assessing  the existing PSSR framework (inclusive of governance arrangements and compliance frameworks) and standards
• An overview of Stage 2 – identifying any gaps, duplications, and inconsistencies in the existing framework (including the governance arrangements) and preliminary gap analysis

WEM Procedures Content Assessment  

• This project aims to assess the content of the existing WEM Procedures to determine, using a set of criteria established through the Procedure Change Process Review, whether there are any matters included in them to that should be elevated to the WEM Rules
• EPWA has developed a Scope of Work and Terms of Reference for the establishment of MAC Working Group for consideration by the MAC

Key agenda items:

WEM Investment Certainty Review including:

• the proposals for the Reserve Capacity Price curve changes.

Demand Side Response Review including:

• the draft Demand Side Response (DSR) Review Information Paper which sets out the outcomes of the review of the DSR participation in the WEM.

Western Power update to the MAC

• following the recent State Government announcements regarding transmission network infrastructure, Western Power will be providing an overview of its activities in that space.