The National Electricity Market (NEM) wholesale market settings review, also known as the Nelson Review, has been handed down, outlining a number of recommendations for reforms to the current industry and market.
This marks the biggest review of the electricity market since the Finkel Review in 2017.
The review, chaired by Associate Professor Tim Nelson, has highlighted recommendations for reforms to the current market settings to help build investment certainty for large-scale renewable clean energy projects, support essential systems services to deliver reliability in the grid and reward consumer participation from home solar and battery systems.
The report aims to prepare recommendations and a roadmap, to support the development and staged implementation of reforms to the NEM wholesale market to support the achievement of Australia’s National Electricity Objectives.
These objectives include the delivery of reliable, competitively priced, safe and secure electricity services, supporting the long-term interests of consumers and prosperity of Australia’s economy
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has tabled its submission regarding the report, calling for further analysis and refinement, particularly around design work on Electricity Services Entry Mechanisms (ESEM) and impacts on competition.
The CEC is also calling for more support for longer-term and developing sectors, further engagement with industry on the role of financial derivative markets and specific contract designs, as well as market development to deliver least-cost essential system services and deliver a reliable system efficiently.
Additional analysis, supported by CEC’s member engagement also points towards a desire for the continuation of working groups and the establishment of new technical working groups to build out the detail needed for final recommendations, with CEC saying transparency and consultation with industry and consumer bodies is critical for adoption will be critical for adoption.
To learn more about the review, click here. To read the CEC’s submission, click here.