In August 2021, the Energy Security Board (ESB) released its Data Strategy Recommendations. The recommendations resulted in a range of reforms, including Network Visibility (for the market). The ESB has worked in collaboration with the market bodies (AER, AEMC, and AEMO) to deliver the Data Strategy programme of work. In May 2023, the Energy Ministers agreed for the ESB to transition and become the EAP (Energy Advisory Panel) from 1st July 2023. This has meant that the AER will now lead the Network Visibility Project (Phase 1 - Submissions, 2, and 3).
The Network Visibility project seeks to optimise the benefits of CER (Consumer Energy Resources) and network assets for all customers by providing market and policy stakeholders with the critical information they need to make CER planning decisions and to manage network-related risks. The key outcome of the workstream is to develop a pathway that will deliver network visibility to the market, including: (a) definitions of the data that are needed and (b) appropriate arrangements for it to be delivered.
Phase 1 of the Network Visibility project delivers a paper for public consultation, focusing on defining use cases and datasets required for the market, in which use cases are to be developed and the critical data needed by stakeholder for each use case is defined and prioritised.
The ESB finalised this paper on 30 June 2023. The AER invited submissions to the consultation paper by 1 September 2023.
Phase 2 involved a trial to provide data to support the Victorian Neighbourhood Battery Initiative (NBI). The AER published its Phase 2 summary report on 11 October 2024.