Our role as the NSW Consumer Trustee under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap
The NSW Government appointed AEMO Services as the independent Consumer Trustee, to protect the long-term financial interests of NSW electricity consumers. This responsibility is at the core of everything we do under the NSW Electricity Roadmap.
AEMO Services is a key partner in the implementation of the Roadmap. We are trusted to plan, partner and progress long-term investment to help transform the energy sector.
In the Infrastructure Investment Objectives (IIO) Report, we identify the timing and scale for renewable energy generation and storage investment. We incentivise these new investments through tenders for LTESAs. Through our rolling schedule of competitive tenders and coordinated investment planning, we act in the long-term financial interests of NSW electricity consumers to support a future network that delivers quality energy, where and when it is needed.
Whilst our most prominent task as Consumer Trustee is to plan for, design and operate the tender process for new infrastructure in generation, firming and long-duration storage, we also play a lesser known, yet important and very specific role – an independent check on REZ network infrastructure project recommendations provided by EnergyCo.
To find out more about the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, please head to the NSW Government website
Our role on the Capacity Investment Scheme
The CIS is a priority reform to support reliability under the National Energy Transformation Partnership (NETP) with the Australian and State Governments and Territories.
The CIS is a national program to encourage new investment in renewable capacity, such as wind and solar, as well as clean dispatchable capacity, such as battery storage.
It aims to help build a more reliable, affordable, and low-emissions energy system for all Australians.
The CIS involves the Australian Government seeking competitive tender bids for renewable capacity and clean dispatchable capacity projects to:
- deliver an additional 32 GW of capacity by 2030
- fill expected reliability gaps as ageing coal power stations exit
- deliver the Australian Government’s 82% renewable electricity by 2030 target.
AEMO has tasked AEMO Services to support the roll-out of the CIS as an advisor and tender delivery partner, bringing together our expertise in energy market design, management, and tender procurement.
AEMO Services is conducting the competitive tender process that will enable the Australian Government to determine which projects the scheme should support, commencing with the SA-VIC Tender, National Electricity Market (NEM) Tender 1, Tender 2 – Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) Dispatchable tender, Tender 3 – NEM Dispatchable and Tender 4 – NEM Generation.
For a more comprehensive understanding of our role click here.
CIS tenders are expected to be progressively rolled out from 2023 through to 2027 to meet reliability needs between FY26 and FY30.
To find out more about the Capacity Investment Scheme please head to the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water website.
Scheme Financial Vehicle (SFV) has been established by the Financial Trustee, as a proprietary company limited by shares. Those shares are held on trust by the Financial Trustee (by way of a statutory trust), independent of the State of NSW. SFV has a number of statutory functions under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, including establishing and maintaining the Electricity Infrastructure Fund and serving as the independent counterparty to long-term energy service agreements with project proponents recommended by the Consumer Trustee’s rolling tender process. It also provides revenue, as determined by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for Renewable Energy Zone network infrastructure projects and priority transmission infrastructure projects developed under the Roadmap.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is appointed as a regulator under the NSW Electricity Roadmap and has a number of statutory functions, including determining the amount payable to network operators for network infrastructure projects. The AER makes 5-year revenue determinations for network infrastructure authorised by the Consumer Trustee including the calculation of the prudent, efficient and reasonable capital costs of these projects; makes annual contribution determinations in relation to the Electricity Infrastructure Fund; approves a risk management framework developed by the Consumer Trustee; and reviews tender rules in relation to long-term energy service agreements.
As the Energy Security Target (EST) Monitor, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is responsible for calculating and setting a 10-year energy security target for New South Wales and providing a continuous assessment of the network’s capacity to meet this target. The EST is designed to provide market certainty as it ensures that there will be reliable supplies of electricity available to meet electricity demands over the medium term.
The Renewable Energy Sector Board comprises representatives of unions, the steel, electricity and manufacturing sectors, the renewable energy industry, and consumer advocates. The Renewable Energy Sector Board provides the Minister for Energy with a plan for the NSW renewable energy sector in relation to the operation of the sector and the manufacture and construction of infrastructure in the sector. AEMO Services is required to consider this plan when exercising its functions as the Consumer Trustee. The Renewable Energy Sector Board also advises the Minister for Energy on actions intended to drive sustainable growth and competitiveness of local industries, and to realise benefits for local workers and communities in relation to the construction of generation, storage and network infrastructure. This includes making recommendations on the use of locally produced and supplied goods and services, employment of suitable qualified local workers, and opportunities for apprentices and trainees, in the construction of generation, storage and network infrastructure.
The Electricity Infrastructure Jobs Advocate is an independent statutory office that advises the Energy Minister on strategies and incentives to encourage investment, development, workforce development, employment, education and training in the energy sector as New South Wales transitions to renewable energy. The Jobs Advocate has a particular focus on the Hunter, Central Coast, Illawarra, Far West, South-West, New England and the Central West regions of NSW. The Jobs Advocate also provides advice on road, rail and port infrastructure required in those regions to promote export opportunities for generation, storage and network technology.