Have your say on the government's approach to ensuring reliable and secure electricity for South Australians, now and into the future.

With South Australia at the forefront of the national energy transition to low emission sources, it is vital to ensure system reliability and resilience to provide certainty to energy users and reduce the risk of consumer exposure to price shocks and unmet electricity demand.

The government has proposed a framework to support sufficient long duration firm capacity to ensure secure, reliable and resilient electricity supply for South Australia, at least-cost to consumers.

We asked for your feedback on the proposed policy framework, the scheme’s design and objectives, and how the scheme will operate.

Background

South Australia’s energy is supplied by a diverse mix of distributed energy resources, wind farms, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, gas and liquid fuels, utility scale batteries and interconnection with neighbouring National Electricity Market (NEM) jurisdictions.

While our state is well placed to benefit from the national energy transition, there are significant uncertainties ahead as the change gathers speed, including the forecast retirement of the state’s gas generation fleet, as well as significant forecast growth in local energy demand.

In this environment it is essential that the right framework is in place to ensure system reliability and resilience in South Australia.

Consultation paper

A consultation paper was prepared to:

  • improve understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by the South Australian power system and the need for tailored policies to protect the long-term interests of consumers
  • provide an overview of the proposed framework, as well as the objectives and principles guiding its design
  • explain the Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM) as an integral part of the proposed framework and how its design will ensure South Australia has sufficient firm long-duration capacity
  • provide an opportunity for industry and other stakeholders to provide feedback prior to detailed policy design and the drafting of regulations.

Read the consultation paper:  Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism - Proposed scheme design consultation paper (PDF, 1012.1 KB)

Consultation process

Interested parties were invited to submit any comments by:

The consultation closed on Friday 20 December 2024.

Submissions received

Contact us

If you have any questions about this consultation contact dem.ferm@sa.gov.au