The ESB is currently seeking stakeholder feedback on the rationale and options for capturing ‘standing data’ for new EVSE installations as presented within the Consultation Paper. See 'Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Standing Data Consultation Paper' below for full details.
By 2030, AEMO expects around 50 per cent of consumers, including large businesses, to use some form of consumer energy resources to participate in the demand side of the national electricity market. There are enormous opportunities arising from the way Australians have embraced solar on their rooftops, smart appliances and, increasingly, batteries and electric vehicles.
Investments in rooftop solar, batteries and smart appliances can not only lower consumers’ bills but also provide them with new levels of control over their energy use. For households this flexibility can mean improved convenience and comfort, while for businesses more flexibility can mean greater productivity or a way to electrify their processes. Moreover, these benefits can help lower system costs for all consumers – not only those with rooftop solar.
However, most solar PV on rooftops today is ‘passive’, meaning it cannot change its output up or down in response to signals. This makes it harder for AEMO to balance supply and demand minute by minute as it operates the system and maintains a secure and stable grid, and also means customers cannot easily provide and be rewarded for flexibility for turning output up or down.
The Post-2025 reforms seek to unlock the full potential of consumer energy through arrangements that reward customers with flexible demand for responding to market conditions. Increasing information and signals to the market will help us to get more value for customers from consumer energy resources and keep the system safe and stable so everyone can use energy the way they want to. Importantly, the Post 2025 reforms include measures to address some immediate technical challenges to keep the system secure as we transition to this flexible, rewards-based future.
The detailed technical, regulatory activities that will be delivered are set out in the CER Implementation Plan.
The Plan aims to:
- Reward consumers for their flexible demand and generation, provide options for how they want to engage with the energy market, and provide a fit-for-purpose consumer protections framework.
- Support energy market innovation, allow for the integration of new business models and provide a more efficient supply and demand balance.
- Allow networks to accommodate the continued uptake of CER and two-way flows and enable them to manage the network’s security in a cost-effective way.
- Provide the system operator with the visibility and tools it needs to continue to operate a safe, secure and reliable system.
It is critical that the reforms deliver products, services and systems that work for customers, and respond to their evolving needs and expectations in a fast-moving market. That is why the Plan is supported by the Customer Insights Collaboration, which will work with stakeholders to generate customer insights to guide the reform activities.
The ESB published the following items on 17 December 2021.
A Scope of Works for delivery of reform activities in the CER Implementation Plan over Horizon One (2022). This is intended to:
- Provide stakeholders with more clarity about the approach that we intend to use to give effect to National Cabinet's decision to deliver the DER Implementation Plan,
- Provide clarity on the lead agency for each of the reform activities over Horizon One (2022) and what are key milestones or next steps for each activity.
You can also download the following related documents:
- Attachment A - three-year horizon of DER Implementation Plan
- Attachment B - customer insights collaboration
- Attachment C - activities for Horizon One
To support customers to easily switch between CER service providers, and to get the most value from their CER assets, a degree of 'interoperability' will be needed between CER devices and supporting systems and process interfaces.
- The ESB carried out a consultation seeking stakeholder views on an assessment framework to inform consideration of the trade-offs involved in applying relevant technical standards relating to inverter based CER devices.
- The assessment framework has been prepared by FTI Consulting and was published as an accompanying document to the ESB consultation.
- Submissions received to the consultation can be found here.
Interoperability Policy – Directions Paper
The ESB published a directions paper on 13 October 2022, seeking stakeholder feedback on interdependencies between the suggested approachesproposed within it.
Submissions
The ESB received 23 submissions in response to the Interoperability Policy Directions Paper, including two personal submissions and one informal or confidential submission. All public submissions are now available online.
CitiPower, Powercor Australia and United Energy |
Public Interest Advocacy Centre Private Individual - Dr M Gill |
Private Individual - Mr J Markwell |
Electric vehicle (EV) charging is set to transform our electricity systems. There is broad consensus that EV integration presents both major opportunities and challenges for the electricity grid. Currently, networks and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) do not have access to reliable data on the size, location, and characteristics of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to enable them to determine and manage these opportunities and challenges effectively.
EV uptake is expected to accelerate rapidly. There is an opportunity for Australia to put in place appropriate systems to ensure system planners and operators, or other parties, have the information they need to manage this transition effectively.
The ESB is seeking stakeholder feedback on the rationale and options for capturing ‘standing data’ for new EVSE installations presented within the consultation paper.
- Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Standing Data - Consultation Paper
- Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Standing Data – Webinar slides
Submissions on the paper close 10 February 2023, and can be submitted via email to info@esb.org.au
As part of the CER Implementation Plan, the Energy Security Board (ESB) has been tasked with developing policy advice regarding what technical foundations are necessary to support the effective integration of smart charging for EVs into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The ESB published an Issues Paper in July 2022 seeking stakeholder views on a range of issues relating to the development of effective arrangements for EV smart charging in both domestic and public settings.
- Electric Vehicle Smart Charging – Issues Paper
- Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Issues Paper – stakeholder webinar slides - 2 Aug 2022
Submissions
The ESB received 36 stakeholder submissions in response to its Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Issues Paper, including 6 informal or confidential submissions. All public submissions are available below:
Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program |
N&M Consultancy |
The ESB in collaboration with market bodies is hosting quarterly check-ins with stakeholders to enable a high-level discussion about the delivery of the CER Implementation Plan. The quarterly check-ins build on the engagement and consultation underway for each reform activity.
MEETING |
MATERIALS |
Session 1 – May 5, 2022 |
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Session 2 - May 19, 2022 |
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Session 3 - June 2, 2022 |
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Session 4 - June 16, 2022 |
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Session 5 – July 14, 2022 |
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Session 6 – July 29 2022 |
The ESB has set out a range of reform initiatives as part of its integrated CER Implementation Plan.These include:
Development of technical standards governance: AEMC rule change requested by the ESB.
Standards for new technologies/devices: providing functionality for ‘active’ CER devices will guide next stage of the Distributed Energy Integration Program (DEIP) work including further definition of DSO network responsibilities. This includes important work on interoperability, enabling devices to communicate with each other so customers can easily switch between providers. Other activities include:
- ESB/market bodies to work with stakeholders to develop policy on electric vehicle charging standards and timing for their introduction.
- ESB is developing policy advice (due to DEIP December 2021) on interoperability to provide direction on technical standards.
- Based on this advice support phased introduction of mandatory technical standards for new inverter based solar PV and battery storage.
- ESB and DEIP to identify related processes needed to enable CER interoperability alongside standards e.g., registration, telemetry data collection and management of identity and access control.
- Development of CER cyber standards with ESB/AEMO to provide scope and need ahead of the Commonwealth DISER standards; AEMO to maintain coordination with DISER and workplan oversight; risk identification via DEIP interoperability workstream.
Addressing system security challenges emerging from low system load conditions:
- Enhanced AEMO information such as: new guidelines to improve knowledge sharing of conditions that contribute to minimum system demand; collaboration with industry to report to the market on minimum system demand conditions; new post-event reports to be associated with market notice mechanisms.
- Turn up capability trials run by AEMO and ARENA exploring ways to help more consumers take advantage of negative and low-price periods by shifting consumption to soak up excess solar generation.
Dynamic operating envelope trials underway in South Australia and Victoria to help develop guidelines on metering configurations, connection agreements and capacity allocation rules for network capacity to maximise what we get out of the existing grid.
Distributed energy resources access and pricing rules were made by the AEMC on 12 August 2021 to make room for more rooftop solar on the grid and embed batteries and other resources more effectively.
Wholesale demand response mechanism, which took effect from October 2021, letting large users trade their energy use. It encourages large consumers to reduce their electricity consumption in response to wholesale market price signals. It works by scheduling this demand into the market in the same way generator supply is scheduled.
Integrating energy storage into the NEM: Draft determination of 15 July 2021 proposes National Electricity Rules updates to accommodate the market participation of new technologies, business models and services. It considers the best ways to implement the ESB’s trader-services model.
Five-minute settlement: changing the financial settlement period for the wholesale electricity spot market from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Will encourage participation of fast response technologies, such as batteries, fast-start plants and demand response. Five-minute settlement will start on 1 October 2021.
Demand-side portal: introduced by AEMO in 2017 following an AEMC rule change. Continues to evolve with more granular information.
Power of choice reforms: including cost-reflective pricing (introduced through the 2014 Distribution Network Pricing Arrangements rule change which was progressively put in place by 2017) and Competition in metering through the 2014 Expanding competition in metering and related services rule change which took effect on 1 December 2017.
Virtual power plant (VPP) demonstrations: Extended to June 2021 with the number of VPPs and the aggregated VPP capacity continuing to increase.
Victorian distributed energy resources marketplace: A demonstration of the co-ordination and optimisation of aggregated DER in the wholesale market.
ARENA/AEMO demand response RERT trials: Commenced in 2017 and run for three years.
Further background material from ESB Post-2025 Technical Working Groups can be accessed here:
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - DER Integration - 200630
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - DER Integration - 200721
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - DER Integration - 200728
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - Two Sided Markets - 200720
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - Two Sided Markets - 200811
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - Two Sided Markets - 200921
- Presentation to Technical Working Group - Two Sided Markets - 200409