New legislation to modernise Western Australia’s (WA) electricity sector rules has been introduced to parliament with the state government claiming the bill will provide a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework that can better respond to the challenges and opportunities associated with the clean energy transformation.
The WA government said in a statement the current rules that govern the state’s electricity sector are nearly two decades old and are “not well suited to maintaining a secure and reliable power system or maximising the opportunities for a well-managed transition to a decarbonised energy sector.”
“The pace of Western Australia’s unprecedented energy transformation is changing the way we produce, store, and consume electricity, however, the primary legislation governing WA’s electricity sector is outdated and nearly 20-years-old,” it said.
“Changes are necessary to keep pace with a rapidly transitioning power system, adapting to the efficient integration of new technologies.”
Energy Policy WA said the Electricity Industry Amendment (Distributed Energy Resources) Bill 2023 has been designed to enable the uptake of new technologies such as rooftop solar, battery storage and electric vehicles and to support the state government’s commitment to net zero by 2050.
The bill introduces a State Electricity Objective (SEO) that the government said will minimise barriers to investment in lower-emission technologies while retaining a focus on the long-term interests of consumers with respect to the price, reliability and security of electricity.
The bill also amends the Electricity Industry Act 2004 to remove duplication, consolidating the rules and codes into the Electricity System and Market Rules (ESMR). It will also enable new technologies to support and participate in the power system.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston said the bill, developed in consultation with industry and consumer representatives, will provide a flexible, responsive, and future-focused regulatory framework.
“The amendments are the next step to modernising governance arrangements, to keep pace with an electricity industry that is accelerating towards a low-emissions future,” he said.
“A new electricity objective will empower decision-makers to consider the energy trilemma – sustainability, reliability and affordability, ensuring that decisions are made for the long-term interest of all Western Australians.
“The amendments will future-proof the existing governance framework, by providing provisions to better manage and incorporate rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles.”
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It is unfortunate that the report does not incluide any details, for example, what, if any, changes re proposed that would affect household rooftop photovoltaic systems.
For example, on the SWIS grid, we have a gratuitously malignant restriction, that is irrational, unreasonable, and, unjustifiable, whence, whilst we have 63A (15kW) grid connection fuses on single phase grid connections, instead of being allowed, aas we should, to have the same restrictions as three phase grid connections;
“>5kVA systems or commercial electricity account holders:
will be export limited to 1.5kW, and
will not be subject to Emergency Solar Management
”
-https://www.westernpower.com.au/industry/manuals-guides-standards/basic-embedded-generation-connection-technical-requirements/
and a limit of 15kW of generating capacity.
In table 1.1 of the document published at https://www.westernpower.com.au/media/6551/basic-eg-generator-technical-requirements-20230411.pdf , is made clear that, for systems both with, and, without, DC coupled BESS’s, the nominal inverter capacity allowed maximum, is 15kW for a three phase system, and, 5kW for a single phase system.
In table 2.1 of that document, is
“Connection service Capacity
(per
Phase)
Nominal
voltage
Single-phase 63 A 240 V”
showing that single pase electricity grid connections to the SWIS grid, have capacity of 63A at 240V, which gives 15.12kW capacity.
But, due to the persistent bastardy of Western Power, the operator of the grid, and, the state government, which, together with Western Power, actively punish households that use clean energy through household rooftop photovoltaic systems, we are limited to 5kW (about 20A, at 240V), of generating capacity, from single phase household rooftop photovoltaic systems.
One of the bastardy aspects of this, is that it is illegal, on the SWIS grid, to charge a Battery Electric Vehicle, from a household rooftop photovoltaic system with a single phase grid connection.
We are not allowed to generate enough power, to do that.
Instead, the mkalignant Western Power, in conjunction with the state government, force us to use electricity generated by burning fossil fuels, even though, we have our own photovoltaic systems, so as to use clean energy.
And, due to the unstable, unsafe, and unreliable, nature of the SWIS grid electricity supply, having got a household rooftop photovoltaic system with a BES and thence, UPS for the household, for household safety, the protected circuit is limited to 5kW, or, 20A, so, we cannot use the electric jug and the oven, at the same time; we are limited to 5kW of usable power.
Western Power and the state government of WA, are in the midst of a war against the use of clean energy by households in WA.
Whilst Western Power, in its deranged mindset, maintains that a 5kW inverter, exporting up to 5kW of electricity to the grid, imposes less strain on the grid, than a 15kW inverter, limited to exporting 1.5kW to the grid, the SWIS grid is the only grid within a state in Australia, where single phase grid connections, are not allowed photovoltaic inverters with or without DC coupled BESS’s, to have a generating capacity of 10kW or more.
I believe that an applicable term for the treatment of victims on the SWIS grid, by Western Power and the WA state government, is coercive control, like the conditions of residents of the China And North Korea And Russia (CANKAR) evil trinity.
So, the report above, would be more useful, if it would include details about when the state government and Western Power, will allow us to properly and adequately, use clean energy, at the household level, without punishment, and, when they will compensate us, for the war that they have been waging against us.
Hi Bret, thanks for your comment – some really interesting information in there on WA’s export limits, which are indeed rather draconian. Thanks for including so much technical detail on how those rules work too. Cheers!