Australian energy market operator deploys grid-focused reforms
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The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has implemented major reforms to Western Australia’s Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), with grid modernisation a key focus point.
According to the market operator is a press release, developing a modernised grid to cope with increasing levels of renewable energy and technology, such as grid-scale battery storage, has been one of the driving forces behind the reforms.
The market reforms aim to facilitate future investment needed to maintain system security and reliability and overcome technical issues that result in dispatching more costly generation, which will allow more low-cost renewable energy into the grid.
The reforms were delivered by the AEMO in collaboration with government agencies, industry and market participants, as part of the Western Australian (WA) Government’s Energy Transformation Strategy (ETS).
The WEM facilitates the buying and selling of electricity for the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), WA’s main power system, which provides electricity to about 1.2 million residential and business customers via 7,500km of transmission and 93,350km of distribution power lines.
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AEMO executive general manager for Western Australia and strategy Kate Ryan said the existing market was no longer fit-for-purpose to facilitate the state’s energy transition to net zero emissions.
Said Ryan in a statement: “Only a decade ago, more than 90% of all electricity used in WA’s main power system was generated by burning coal and gas. Today, the wind and the sun account for around a third of our annual electricity supply, peaking at about 84%, at times.
“These reforms modernise the power system in Western Australia and lay the foundations for it to run on growing levels of renewables, while delivering secure, reliable and affordable energy to consumers.”
The reformed WEM will also provide a more competitive market matching real-time demand for electricity with the lowest cost sources of generation, while maintaining power system security and reliability.
“Delivering this complex reform is a terrific example of the collaboration across AEMO, government, industry and market bodies that will be needed to navigate the energy transition,” added Ryan.
