Following consultation with stakeholders, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has today released its Wholesale Demand Response Participation Guidelines and final decision to support the new Wholesale Demand Response Mechanism (WDRM) that commences in the national electricity market (NEM) on 24 October 2021.
The guidelines, to be enforced by the AER, make clear the record-keeping and information retention requirements of businesses who register as Demand Response Service Providers (DRSPs).
The Australian Energy Market Commission made its final rule in June last year to introduce the WDRM to support power system security and reliability.
The mechanism allows eligible large electricity consumers, such as big industrial manufacturing plants, to offer a partial reduction or a full shut-down of their energy load back into the NEM for payment.
DRSPs will sign up to provide wholesale demand response by registering with the Australian Energy Market Operator.