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The Clean Energy Council welcomes the release of the Energy Security Board’s (ESB’s) post-2025 market review consultation paper, and its recognition of the inevitable transition to clean energy and the importance of market reform to ensure this is a managed transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and energy storage.
“The electricity system is in a state of transition to one characterised by a much higher penetration of renewable energy. It is great that the ESB has acknowledged this new reality and is considering a market framework that will support this transition,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Kane Thornton.
“There is a significant amount of detail to work through in today’s paper to understand its implications and interactions,” said Thornton.
“However, we are particularly excited to see the developments around an aging thermal exit strategy, essential system services, and valuing demand flexibility and integrating distributed energy resources (DER). Harnessing DER and encouraging private investment in energy storage is crucial to support a reliable and secure energy system.”
These are potentially very significant reforms that require careful consideration and planning to ensure they strengthen rather than undermine investor confidence. We need a streamlined, integrated market design that delivers the right outcomes for consumers and confidence for investors.
As part of the post-2025 review, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has also released an associated paper on transmission access reform, formerly referred to as COGATI. Previous versions of COGATI have added uncertainty and risk for investors.
Since the initiation of this work about 18 months ago, generators, developers and investors have expressed continued concern around the need for such a significant reform, particularly in light of the range of other reforms already underway.
“Actioning the Integrated System Plan to deliver new transmission investment, renewable energy zone development work being undertaken by the ESB and a number of state governments, and improved market information around new projects and the broader system will go a long way to address the congestion risks facing investors and provide effective locational signals,” said Thornton.
“Until these are put in place, and we have sufficient experience with these new reforms, it remains unclear if a more fundamental change to access is necessary. We will need to take time to interrogate the detail of this latest iteration of the access reform proposal.”
