The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) will prioritise consumer energy resources (CER) integration as outlined in the Engineering Roadmap FY2026 Priority Actions report, and aims to enable higher levels of CER contribution by improving its viability, predictability, and controllability.
AEMO will start by onboarding CER data streams that are available now, including dynamic operating envelope data from SA Power Networks (SAPN) and Energy Queensland (EQ).
“Networks containing high levels of distributed generation will be characterised by power flows in reverse of traditional direction of flow and frequent occurrence of low demand (minimum system load) which reduces the provision of system services from synchronous generation,” the report says.
Improving CER data quality will follow, to enhance data streams for analysing CER response to system disturbances and explore pathways for resumption of distributed solar during system restart.
In the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), AEMO will continue to contribute to the coordinated program of work under the Western Australian (WA) government’s distributed energy resources (DER) roadmap as a partner of Project Jupiter and accelerating opportunities for WA households to join virtual power plants (VPPs), and participate in the energy transition.
“These initiatives are complementary to the SWIS Engineering Roadmap activities, which prioritise investigations on CER response to system restoration and low system strength, and assessment of any need to expand requirements for backstop solar capabilities,” the report says.
Image: Australian Energy Market Operator
AEMO Executive General Manager System Design Merryn York said the coming financial year’s priority actions will facilitate even higher renewable and battery storage participation in the nation’s power systems.
“A key priority over the next 12 months will involve advancing understanding of future technology capabilities, including grid-forming batteries to support power system security,” York said.
“Other priorities include enabling further integration of CER, uplifting AEMO’s operational capabilities, and preparing for transition points such as coal retirements.”
Supported by an Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) grant, AEMO is working to ensure the grid can handle higher renewable contributions, which reached peaks of 75.6% in the NEM and 85.1% in the SWIS during FY2025.
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