AER Australian Energy Regulator : Retailer Reliability Obligation triggered in South Australia

On 7 January 2021, the South Australia Minister for Energy and Mining triggered the Retailer Reliability Obligation (RRO) in South Australia for the first quarter of 2024.

The RRO is designed to support reliability in the National Electricity Market (NEM). In particular it encourages retailers, and some large energy users, to establish contracts for their share of demand for a prescribed period.

Under the South Australia Ministers declaration, the instrument's prescribed period is each working weekday from 8 January 2024 - 18 March 2024 for the trading periods between 3 pm and 9 pm EST.

As of 14 January 2021, large generation businesses in South Australia, namely Origin, AGL and Engie, will be required to offer contracts for the prescribed periods at specific times on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This is a requirement under the Market Liquidity Obligation (MLO).

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has a monitoring and compliance role to ensure that Origin, AGL and Engie offer appropriate products on the ASX as required.

The Interim MLO Guideline outlines the AER's approach to performance monitoring.