Generators deliver reliable supply

The Australian Energy Council said that the latest assessment of electricity supply highlighted the ongoing resilience of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The Council’s Chief Executive, Sarah McNamara, said the Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest Electricity Statement of Opportunities shows the traditional reliability standard would be met in all NEM regions through this decade, even assuming no additional generation or storage is built.

For the first time the market operator has assessed supply against both the existing reliability standard and a more stringent interim reliability standard agreed by energy ministers earlier this year.

“We don’t believe that an interim standard was required, given it is extremely conservative and represents additional costs for energy users by imposing further obligations on market participants,” Ms McNamara said.

“Pleasingly, supply from generators is expected to meet both standards in the coming period.

“This latest assessment shows, with the existing supply, NSW will continue to meet the traditional reliability standard after the closure of Liddell.

“On the face of it NSW may not meet the new tighter interim standard from 2023-24 because these reviews don’t include additional supply beyond what has already committed to being built. When you include expected additional new supply, as well as transmission options recommended in AEMO’s Integrated System Plan, we should confidently expect that even the tighter standard will be met in future supply assessments.

“Our members will continue to invest in new dispatchable generation and the ongoing operation of existing power plants. This dispatchable power will remain critical as we obtain more electricity from renewable sources.”

About the Australian Energy Council

The Council represents 22 major electricity and downstream natural gas businesses operating in the competitive wholesale and retail energy markets. These businesses collectively generate the overwhelming majority of electricity in Australia, sell gas and electricity to over 10 million homes and businesses, and are major investors in renewable energy generation.