Description of Conduct

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.

Applicant(s)

  • AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Authorisation number(s)

  • AA1000643-1

Decisions

Document title Date
Final Determination
Draft Determination
Interim Authorisation

Reporting

Document title Date
AEMO – Report for the period 1 May 2025 – 31 May 2025
AEMO – Report for the period 1 April 2025 – 30 April 2025
AEMO – Report for the period 1 March 2025 – 31 March 2025
AEMO – Report for the period 1 February 2025 – 28 February 2025
AEMO – Report for the period 1 January 2025 – 31 January 2025
AEMO – Report for the period 1 December 2024 – 31 December 2024
AEMO – Report for the period 1 November 2024 – 30 November 2024
AEMO – Report for the period 1 October 2024 – 31 October 2024
AEMO – Report for the period 1 September 2024 - 30 September 2024
AEMO – Report for the period 1 August 2024 – 31 August 2024
AEMO - Report for the period 1 June 2024 - 30 June 2024
AEMO - Report for period 1 May 2024 - 31 May 2024
AEMO – report for period 1 April 2024 to 30 April 2024
AEMO – report for period 1 March 2024 - 31 March 2024
AEMO – Report for period 1 Feb 2024 to 29 Feb 2024
AEMO – Report for period 1 Dec 2023 to 31 Dec 2023
AEMO – Report for period 1 Nov 2023 to 30 Nov 2023
AEMO – Report for period 1 Oct 2023 to 31 Oct 2023
AEMO – Report for period 4 Aug 2023 to 29 Sep 2023
Show all documents (16 more)

Submissions - before draft decision