Energy Consumers Australia appreciates the opportunity to provide a submission to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) on Victoria’s Emergency Backstop Mechanism Consultation Paper.

While Energy Consumers Australia appreciates the short term need to respond to the system security risks of the transitioning energy system, we would strongly encourage the Victorian Government to look to longer-term solutions for system constraints that will deliver an overall more reliable, affordable, and clean energy system.

We appreciate the system security risks the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has identified in Victoria, however, we would strongly encourage the Victorian Government to look at a longer-term strategy for managing system constraints which benefits consumers by:

1. Building community trust by ensuring consumers and their agents receive accessible, clear communications on how both the mechanism and the transition more broadly will impact them.
2. Providing consumers with the tools and information to benefit from the energy transition.
3. Ensuring a broader policy framework, applied by a separate governance body accompany the technical standards used to implement the emergency backstop mechanism.

Read the full submission here.