BULLETIN
Energy Project Team
ENERGY PROJECT TEAM
BULLETIN ONE / JULY 2016
THIS DOCUMENT REPRESENTS THE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS (COAG) ENERGY
COUNCIL RESPONSE TO THE AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET COMMISSION'S (AEMC) FINAL REPORT ON
OPTIONAL FIRM ACCESS (OFA), DESIGN AND TESTING
The AEMC's final report on OFA design and testing was
published on 9 July 2015. The Energy Council acknowledges
the AEMC's extensive consultative process and thanks all
stakeholders involved in the process for their contribution.
The AEMC assessed in its final report that OFA would not
contribute to the achievement of the national electricity objective
in the current market and policy environment as costs and
benefits are similar. However, it considered that future
conditions may emerge that warrant the introduction of OFA.
The AEMC proposed two recommendations for the Energy
Council's consideration;

Implement a biennial reporting regime focussing on the
drivers which influence transmission and generation
investment; and

Submit a rule change request to implement obligations on
transmission network service providers (TNSPs) to create a
public register of information on generator connections.
Public register of information on generator connections
A rule change request has been submitted to the AEMC to
implement obligations on transmission network service providers
to create a public register of information on generator
connections.
The rule change will help improve transparency and should
inform locational decision by generators and coordination of
investment between transmission businesses and generators.
18 July 2016
The Energy Council agreed to the AEMC’s recommendations
and requested the AEMC in February 2016 to implement a
biennial reporting regime and undertake the rule change
request.
OFA biennial reporting
The AEMC will report to the Energy Council biennially on a
series of drivers that could impact on future transmission and
generation investment. It will undertake a two-stage approach to
the biennial reporting.
The first stage report will analyse a set of drivers that influence
the level and types of future generation and transmission
investment. Consideration may be given to government policies,
technology developments and the level of distributed generation,
for example. The AEMC will also recommend if stage two
reporting should proceed.
The second stage would assess if OFA is still an appropriate
solution and if it meets the national electricity objective; that is,
promoting efficient electricity services for the long term interests
of consumers.
coagenergycouncil.gov.au
Secretariat
GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601
Telephone: (02) 6243 7788
[email protected]