About the WA Reform Program

The WA Reform Program is AEMO’s program of work to facilitate the Energy Transition in Western Australia.

The Program will also coordinate other associated initiatives to manage interdependencies.

Background

The WA Reform Program was established following the successful implementation of the new Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) on 1 October 2023. The new market provides the foundation to implement Stage 2 of the WA Government's reform agenda, and the objectives of the broader Energy Transformation Strategy (ETS).

Our purpose and intent

AEMO has formed the WA Reform Program to manage the implementation of the next round of reforms to facilitate the energy transition in Western Australia (WA). As the energy system rapidly decarbonises, the program will address key elements of the electricity market design and system operation to enable new technologies and higher levels of renewable energy sources.

  • Energy Transformation Strategy (ETS) initiatives form the core of the program.
  • Strategic and foundational initiatives support the WA business and provide the necessary capabilities and technology to enable the energy transition.

Working together

As the energy transition in WA progresses the increasingly complex challenges require genuine collaboration and cooperation with and between government, industry and market bodies.

The WA Reform Program is committed to working with our stakeholders on ways to address challenges and harness opportunities in the energy transition, developing cases for change, designing solutions and coordinating the delivery of cost-effective reforms that are integrated and sequenced.

The continued focus on collaboration seen throughout the previous WEM Reform Program will ensure the program not only addresses the immediate needs of the market, but also paves the way for future advancements in energy technology and infrastructure.

Programs or work

There are currently six sub-programs of work within the WA Reform Program, each comprising multiple related projects. A subset of projects is described for each program – selected on the basis that these projects are anticipated as being of particular interest to industry participants.

Program name

 Objective

 Selected projects within each Program

WA Operations Program

The WA Operations Program improves the systems and processes which operate the WEM and GSI.

Outages and Commissioning Test Plans Project

This project will:

  • establish a system and processes by which Participants and AEMO will submit and report on Outage Intention Plans (OIP) (see section 3.19 of the WEM Rules)
  • implement incremental improvements to the Commissioning Test Plan (CTP) and Outage Management (OMS) systems to improve user experience and efficiency.

WA Digital

Program

The WA Digital Program maintains the currency of WA IT systems to prevent interoperability, reliability and cyber security risks resulting from obsolescence.

 All projects within the Digital Program are predominantly internally focused. Initiatives under this program are aimed at:

  • remediating and upgrading legacy systems and IT infrastructure, to mitigate significant risks to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of WA systems and data, and/or
  • delivering foundational technology solutions to enable key reform initiatives and enable future growth in data capacity in the WEM.

RCM Review Program

The RCM Program implements reforms to ensure sufficient capacity is available to maintain system reliability throughout the energy transition.

 RCM Review 2024 Project

This project delivered outstanding changes associated with the Reserve Capacity Cycle 2024, Year 1. The key system changes were released in September 2024, including

  • Automating the Network Access Quantity (NAQ) Model
  • Incorporating Facility Sub-Metering, the assignment of Capacity Credits to Facilities and Components and Reserve Capacity Testing of Components and
  • Addressing a range of technical debt.

 DER Program

The WA DER Program is building a future where DER and CER competitively participate in the WEM.

DER Participation - Project Jupiter

More detail coming soon.

WEM DER Visibility Framework

More detail coming soon.

WA Emerging Reform Program

The WA Emerging Reform Program supports the reforms progressed by Energy Policy WA.

FCESS Cost Review

This project will implement the WEM Frequency Co-Optimised Essential System Services (FCESS) Cost Review Amending Rules. Changes include:

  • A new FCESS Tie-Break methodology;
  • Changes to Estimated FCESS Uplift Payment calculations;
  • Additional Facility commitment obligations on Market Participants;
  • Changes to FCESS Uplift Payment calculations; and
  • Updates to the Market Surveillance Data Catalogue (MSDC)

Relevant technical changes will be implemented on 20 November 2024.

 WA Future System Program

 The WA Future Systems Program builds capabilities to adapt to the energy transition.

 WEM SWIS Power System Modelling

The WEM ESOO and WA GSOO are increasingly critical as the energy transition progresses, signalling emerging supply constraints and investment opportunities. These assessments will need to capture a more nuanced evaluation of risk, particularly relating to the impacts of timing of critical network augmentations and the role of a diverse generation fleet of increasingly varied capability.

This project will uplift AEMO’s techno-economic modelling of the electricity and gas systems to support our long-term assessments of supply requirements, including for the WEM ESOO and the WA GSOO as well as for the procurement of NCESS.

SWIS Engineering Roadmap

The SWIS is transitioning away from predominantly synchronous fossil-fuel generation and is increasingly relying on renewable energy resources using technologies with very different characteristics – for instance intermittent, inverter-based and/or distributed. The SWIS Engineering Roadmap focuses on the engineering actions required to enable the SWIS to operate securely and reliably throughout the energy transition.

The 106 actions identified in the roadmap are divided into the three broad themes that are pivotal to operating the power system at high levels of renewables:

  • power system security
  • system operability
  • resource adequacy and capability.

 


X
Cookies help us improve your website experience.
By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies.
Confirm