The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has conducted a review of the current Significant price reporting guidelines (Guidelines) which concluded the current significant price outcome criteria of $5000/MWh is no longer fit for purpose.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is inviting feedback on our proposed changes to the Guidelines which primarily relate to the methodology to determine which price outcomes in the electricity wholesale market should be reported on. The AER also released a Consultation Paper to accompany the draft Guidelines with key information on the purpose, history, process and next steps.
The consultation paper outlines a proposal to:
move from the current fixed price criteria of $5000/MWh to methodology that identifies selected days where the maximum 30-minute price in the NEM markets across all regions is:
the highest priced day for each month
the next highest priced day in the calendar quarter
include the ability for the AER to apply a principles-based approach to determine alternate price outcomes to report on if they are deemed more consequential or important than any of the selected days
include additional information in the Significant price report.
We are now inviting submissions from interested stakeholders on the draft Guidelines by close of business on 1 December.
We expect to publish our final Guidelines on 20 January 2026.
Purpose
The purpose of the Guidelines is to inform interested parties on our approach, criteria and procedures for reporting on significant prices. Reports prepared under the Guidelines explain the key drivers of high energy price events. This
assists stakeholders and policymakers to assess whether the market is functioning effectively
acts as a preliminary assessment of possible market power or compliance
has a regulatory presence as a deterrent.