It is essential that the Program and the AER class waiver enable other potential actors to enter the market, contribute to removing existing barriers to broader uptake, and promote innovation and competition in the sector

Energy Consumers Australia welcomes the Community Batteries for Household Solar Program.

This reform is crucial to ensuring the market is designed in a way that aligns with the Integrated System Plan and that the market appropriately signals the right combination of new renewable energy generation, new storage and firming resources, and new transmission.

We are pleased to see the proposed three models in the review paper aim to address this change, and at times propose ambitious steps away from the status quo to consider consumer protections in a new light

As the dispatchable storage market is in its early stages of development with several technical, commercial, social and regulatory barriers to overcome, it makes sense to consider how network service providers (NSPs) can play a valuable role to help further develop this niche.

Energy Consumers Australia recommends that the AER ensures that distribution network service providers (DNSPs) approach to the roll-out of flexible exports is transparent and communicated in a clear and understandable manner to both industry (including solar retailers and installers) and consumers.

As the AER acknowledges, the current market has only amplified the significance of the DMO as a tool to protect consumers from unreasonably high prices.

“How” technical standards are mandated and enforced, and “who” is responsible for mandating and enforcing, are the two key questions we see as unanswered in the current technical standards process.

DNSPs should only impose static exports on CER in rare cases. Read our recommendations to find out when.