As part of the Better Regulation reform program, the AER released its Shared Asset Guidelines and accompanying Explanatory Statement on 29 November 2013. The guideline outlines how consumers will benefit from the other services electricity network businesses may provide using the assets consumers pay for.
In February 2022, the Australian Energy Market Commission published the National Electricity Amendment (Regulated stand-alone power systems) Rule 2022 removing existing barriers to distributed network service providers (DNSPs) providing stand-alone power systems (SAPS) to customers. It allows for DNSPs to provide SAPS to existing customers, and to offer to connect new customers to existing regulated SAPS where it is more economically efficient than connection to the interconnected national electricity system.
In particular, the rule change amended Chapter 6 of the National Electricity Rules (NER) to classify regulated SAPS as standard control services. Consequently, regulated SAPS form part of the regulated asset base, while also providing a non-distribution service, specifically a generation service. Where an asset in the regulatory asset base is providing two services, one of which is not a distribution service, the provisions related to shared assets in the NER apply.
Therefore, the rule change requires us to review and update our Shared Asset Guidelines to consider how net positive payments from Australian Energy Market Operator for SAPS generation should be deducted from DNSP revenues.
Stand-Alone Power System Review 2025
We are undertaking a consultation process for amending the Shared Asset Guidelines to take into account the National Electricity Amendment (Regulated stand-alone power systems) Rule 2022.
Submissions to our draft Guidelines closed on 30 April 2025. We are considering stakeholder views in preparing our final Guidelines. We anticipate to publish our final Guideline by 1 July 2025.