Australian Energy Market Operator Limited

The Australian Energy Market Operator Limited (AEMO) sought authorisation to enable it and its related bodies corporate, AEMO Industry Participants and Future AEMO Industry Participants (collectively, the Participants) to discuss, enter into or give effect to any contract, arrangement or understanding between them, or engage in any conduct, related to planning for and/or minimising any disruptions to electricity supply by:

• coordinating outages of generation, transmission and distribution assets for the purposes of repairs, maintenance, renewals, upgrades and new connections (System Works)
• sharing information in relation to essential employees and contractors to ensure there are sufficient personnel to undertake System Works
• sharing information about the availability of parts, equipment or specialised resources necessary for System Works
• sharing information about any risks to the ongoing availability, performance and/or operation of their energy facilities for the purposes of scheduling System Works
• sharing information about electricity system stability from a technical perspective for the purposes of scheduling System Works,

provided:

• the purpose for doing so is either to:
  • ensure the safe, secure and reliable operation of Australia's energy systems, and minimise the risk of any energy outages, during the period of the authorisation; and/or
  • ensure the continued operation and integrity of the NEM during the period of the authorisation and
• this conduct does not include the sharing of specific generator’s wholesale prices, costs and margins

(the Proposed Conduct).

In addition to these required purposes, the Proposed Conduct is subject to a number of other limitations and proposed conduct.

Authorisation was sought until 30 June 2026.

AEMO sought interim authorisation on an urgent basis to enable the Proposed Conduct to occur while the ACCC considers the substantive application.

On 13 July 2023, the ACCC granted conditional interim authorisation to the Participants for arrangements involving coordination on the scheduling of outages and associated information sharing. The conduct authorised in the interim authorisation includes some amendments to what AEMO sought. Interim authorisation remains in place until the ACCC revokes it or its final determination comes into effect.

On 12 October 2023, the ACCC issued a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation.

On 15 November 2023, AEMO varied its application to seek authorisation for 18 months rather than 3 years.

On 30 November 2023, the ACCC issued a final determination granting authorisation, with conditions, for 18 months. The conditions include three conditions additional to those imposed in the interim authorisation.

A copy of the ACCC’s final determination decision and the application are available below.