Health of the National Electricity Market

Overview

The Energy Security Board (ESB) is required to report annually on the health of the National Electricity Market (NEM) and progress against the Strategic Energy Plan. The Strategic Energy Plan sets out a vision for the future of the NEM, framed through six desired outcomes:

  • affordable energy and satisfied customers
  • secure gas and electricity system
  • reliable and low emissions energy
  • effective development of open and competitive markets
  • efficient and timely investment in networks
  • strong but agile governance.

We have outlined our overall views on the market performance against these outcomes, the greatest risks, and the actions required and underway to address them.

2022 Health of the NEM Report

This year’s report is written in the context of recent major developments in the energy landscape:

  • The east coast gas and electricity markets experienced an unprecedented crisis in June 2022 involving extremely high wholesale prices, the temporary suspension of the electricity market and the failure of several small retailers. These events highlight many of the challenges we face to successfully implement a secure, reliable and low emissions energy system that is affordable for consumers.
  • In August 2022, Energy Ministers announced the vision, principles and key initial priority areas for a new National Energy Transformation Partnership (the Partnership) The Partnership’s first action will be to fast-track an emissions objective into the national energy objectives.

 For the first time, the report is being released alongside the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) State of the Energy Market report which provides an impartial and comprehensive review of Australia’s east coast energy markets.

The reports should be read together to present a full picture of the energy market as it is now, and the challenges ahead as the market transitions to achieve Australia's climate goals.

Previous Reports