The Reliability Panel’s 2019 Annual market performance review provides observations and commentary on the security, reliability and safety of the national electricity market during the 2018/19 financial year. 

It compiles information collected from a number of sources including the Australian Energy Market Operator, the Australian Energy Regulator, jurisdictional regulators and market participants. 

The review is designed to:

• provide stakeholders with consolidated information and expert commentary about the performance of the power system and market in a single publication 
• highlight emerging trends to help inform the policy and investment decisions of governments, policy makers, market institutions and market participants  
• identify options to improve the frameworks or mechanisms used to deliver reliability, security and safety.

Key findings:

• The reliability performance of the NEM has been satisfactory during 2018/19 with the regulatory framework including its intervention mechanisms, being leveraged to support reliable delivery of electricity to customers. However, the Panel is concerned by the increasing reliance on interventions to maintain reliable supply. Using emergency tools means the market is not delivering sufficient capacity to meet demand and indicates a need for new investment that can be relied upon at times when consumers need it. 
• Power system security continues to be a challenge to maintain as we transition towards a lower emissions electricity sector and a generation fleet with different technical characteristics compared to what the power system was designed around. The NEM is at the global forefront of dealing with these issues and working towards addressing them by identifying and valuing the services needed. Some solutions may only be temporary fixes and others may take time to mature and become effective.
• The Panel notes that its safety role for the purposes of this report relates primarily to the operation of assets and equipment within their technical limits. The Panel is not aware of any incidents during the 2018/19 reporting period where AEMO’s management of power system security has resulted in a safety issue with respect to maintaining the system within relevant standards and technical limits.