The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) today published draft Market Monitoring Information Orders and accompanying Explanatory Statements for consultation for electricity and for gas.
These Orders follow the publication of the Wholesale Market Monitoring Guideline, which sets out the AER’s general approach to its expanded functions in monitoring and reporting on wholesale gas markets, and electricity and gas contract markets.
Access to contracts and related information will provide visibility of the underlying drivers influencing market participants’ behaviour, whether wholesale market outcomes reflect effective competition in those markets, and whether wholesale markets are operating efficiently. It will also provide valuable insights into how contract markets interact with spot markets, and how retail markets are impacted by wholesale markets.
Our improved market understanding will be used to expand and enhance our existing suite of reports, and provide timely and transparent information to market participants, policy makers and consumers throughout and beyond the energy transition.
Consultation
Interested parties are invited to make a written submission via email to ContractMarketMonitoring
aer [dot] gov [dot] au (ContractMarketMonitoring[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au), with the subject line ‘Wholesale Market Monitoring and Reporting – [title of draft instrument] submission’ by close of business, Friday 20 December 2024.
Alternatively, submissions can be mailed to:
Fiona Hooymans
General Manager, Market Surveillance Branch
Australian Energy Regulator
GPO Box 3131
Canberra ACT 2601
Submissions should be in PDF, Microsoft Word or another text readable document format. Late submissions may be considered by agreement with the AER.
The AER prefers that all submissions be publicly available to facilitate an informed and transparent consultative process. Submissions will be treated as public documents unless marked confidential. Parties wishing to submit confidential information are requested to:
- clearly identify the information that is the subject of the confidentiality claim; and
- provide a non-confidential version of the submission in a form suitable for publication.
All non-confidential submissions must be placed on the AER’s website. For further information on the AER’s use and disclosure of information provided to it, see the ACCC/AER Information Policy, June 2014.
Enquiries about this Explanatory Statement, or about lodging submissions, should be directed to the ContractMarketMonitoringaer [dot] gov [dot] au (ContractMarketMonitoring[at]aer[dot]gov[dot]au) with the subject line ‘Wholesale Market Monitoring and Reporting Guideline – Draft Orders enquiry’.
We are seeking stakeholder feedback and views on:
- the burden and cost the Orders are likely to impose, and any estimated actual costs of complying with the Order
- the clarity of the Orders’ requirements and qualitative questions
- the proposed information required
- the proposed response timeframes
- additional approaches that could be adopted to minimise burden
- the overview of our proposed data portal and our approach to data security.
Background
One of the AER’s key functions is to monitor and report on the performance of wholesale markets.
We deliver this function through a range of reports that provide timely information underpinned by expert and transparent analysis.
Our regular reporting exists to provide confidence in our energy systems, support efficient decision making by market participants, and enable well-informed decision making by policy makers.
To date, we have relied primarily on public information to assess the performance of wholesale markets. This information provides us with an understanding of market participants’ conduct, and outcomes in wholesale markets. However, publicly available information provides very limited visibility of participants’ contracting behaviour.
Through the collection and monitoring of contract related information we will build a more holistic view of wholesale markets which will significantly improve our capability to evaluate performance, competition and efficiency in these markets.