On 30 April 2021, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) received an application from AGL Macquarie Pty Limited (AGL) seeking exemption from the generator notice of closure obligations under section 2.10.1 of the National Electricity Rules.
AGL’s application seeks exemption to bring the closure date of Liddell power station Unit 3 forward a year to 1 April 2022. Contingent on exemption being granted, AGL will subsequently delay the closure date of Liddell power station unit 4 to 1 April 2023. AGL has indicated that it believes unit 4 to be a more reliable generating unit than unit 3. The AER will now commence its analysis and targeted consultation, and will publish its decision in July 2021.
Generators are required to provide a minimum 42 months’ notice of their intention to close, unless granted exemption by the AER. The AER’s Generator Notice of Closure Exemption Guideline sets out our approach to handling exemption requests.