On 13 October 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 close the Hunter Valley Gas Turbines (HVGTS) on 1 January 2022. AGL’s application states that HVGTS is an aged generator and is currently in an inoperable state. HVGTS was previously used to provide system restart services for the Bayswater power station but AGL advise it is no longer required for this purpose. The AER will now commence its analysis and targeted consultation and will publish its decision by December 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.