On 31 August 2022 the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) provided the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) with two reliability instrument requests.
- T-3 reliability instrument for a forecast reliability gap in New South Wales from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026. The forecast reliability gap size is 790 MW.
- T-1 reliability instrument for a forecast reliability gap in South Australia from 8 January to 29 February 2024. The forecast gap size is 230 MW.
The AER must decide whether it is appropriate to make the requested reliability instruments by 31 October 2022. The AER will assess the instrument requests in accordance with the Interim Reliability Instrument Guidelines and Interim Forecasting Best Practice Guidelines.
If the AER makes the T-3 reliability instrument for New South Wales, the Retailer Reliability Obligation will begin. This means that liable entities in New South Wales will be on notice to enter into sufficient qualifying contracts to cover their share of one-in-two year peak demand throughout the forecast reliability gap.
If the AER makes the T-1 reliability instrument for South Australia, liable entities in South Australia will be required to submit net contract position reports at a later date, set by the AER.
The National Electricity Rules and the Interim Reliability Instrument Guidelines define the decision making criteria against which the AER must consider the reliability instrument request. The AER invites submissions from interested stakeholders on the reliability instrument requests aligned with those criteria by 14 September 2022. Stakeholders may choose to respond to both instrument requests in one submission.
AEMO has also advised the AER that the reliability gap in New South Wales in 2024 is no longer forecast. As a result, that reliability gap is now closed.