The Wholesale Energy Market Amendment (Reserve Capacity Reform) Rules 2023 (RCM Reform Rules) were laid out in four schedules assuming a certain order, in which they were to be sequenced/commenced, with only the first schedule commencing upon the gazettal of the RCM Reform Rules in December 2023.
AEMO subsequently revised the commencement timeline for implementing the RCM Reform Rules and identified a number of areas, in which it did not have the ability to implement the RCM Reform Rules as originally drafted. This requires changes to the remaining 3 schedules of the RCM Reform Rules, that are yet to be commenced, prior to their implementation.
AEMO presented commencement dates for specific parts of the schedules that remain to be implemented at the Transformation Design and Operation Working Group (TDOWG) meeting 52 on 20 August 2024. Based on the stakeholder feedback at the TDOWG, EPWA and AEMO have developed some changes that would allow for an earlier implementation of the Relevant Level Method.
This Exposure Draft contains two parts:
Part 1 outlines the draft WEM Amending Rules to implement the review outcomes for Initiatives 1 and 2 of the WEM Investment Certainty (WIC) Review; and
Part 2 is to consult on changes that:
⚬ Would allow for an earlier implementation of the Relevant Level Method; and
⚬ Address issues that EPWA, in consultation with AEMO, has identified during the re-sequencing of the RCM Reform Rules, which require further consultation. These include:
- A transitional provision to delay the commencement of certain obligations related to Flexible Reserve Capacity if there is an excess of Flexible Capacity credits to allow AEMO to bring the implementation of the Relevant Level Method forward;
- Additional changes to the determination of the Individual Reserve Capacity Requirement (IRCR) of Associated Loads that are part of a Demand Side Programme dispatched during an IRCR Interval, which were previously consulted on in the Exposure Draft of the IRCR adjustment for Associated Loads Amending Rules; and
- Changes to clauses previously consulted on under the Wholesale Electricity Market Amendment (Miscellaneous Amendments No 3) Rules 2024 that will be implemented together with the remaining RCM Reform Rules schedules.
Following industry consultation and legal review, the proposed WEM Amending Rules in this Exposure Draft, together with any additional changes to provide for the re-sequencing of the remaining 3 schedules of the RCM Reform Rules, will be submitted to the Minister for Energy for making and gazettal.
The window for submitting feedback closed at 5:00pm on 9 December 2024.
