“Making the invisible visible:” New rules to hold networks to account for managing consumer energy assets

A rule change to bring distribution network planning and reporting up to speed with the consumer energy revolution has been hailed as a “fundamental step” towards creating new competitive markets and optimising Australia’s world-leading rooftop solar and battery storage resource.

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) on Thursday published its final determination on Enhancing Network Distribution Planning & Reporting, a new framework for data reporting and for development planning to support more proactive, longer-term management of consumer assets on the grid.

The rules require more “consistent and transparent” reporting of distribution network data, and a clearer long-term view of how networks will manage consumer energy resources (CER), including expected increases in the two-way flow of power and the electrification of homes and businesses.

AEMC chair Anna Collyer says the new rule is about “making the invisible visible,” while also driving better informed and more targeted investments in the grid, with network costs accounting for up to half of a typical power bill.

And when you look at the scale of these “invisible” assets, it becomes clear why the AEMC has felt the need act, doing its part alongside the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). 

By the end of 2025, Australia had a combined national total of 4.3 million rooftop PV installations, representing 28.3 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity, and more than 450,000 battery units installed in homes and businesses with more than 11.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage.

And according to the Step Change scenario in AEMO’s 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP), small-scale batteries will grow from 5 GW/12 GWh in April 2026 to 12 GW/33 GWh in 2030, and then 35 GW/78 GWh in 2050. By 2050, around two-thirds of solar homes are forecast to have batteries. 

As for batteries on wheels, AEMO expects around 80 per cent of vehicles on Australian roads to be electric by 2050 and around 10 per cent of household EVs to participate in V2G, providing around 4.3 GW of flexible capacity and 48.8 GWh of storage.

“Some of the biggest changes in the energy system are now happening in the parts of the grid we have historically been least able to see,” Collyer said in a statement on Thursday. 

“So this rule is about making the invisible visible, as well as providing better long term insights into what CER means for network development.”

How the rule change aims to do this is through a new reporting framework for more consistent and transparent distribution network data, that can then unlock more value from home batteries, and identify where community batteries or EV chargers might deliver the greatest benefit. 

Better reporting and visibility of local data is also expected to allow energy service providers to offer more tailored products and services that better meet the needs of their customers.

On the planning side, the rule change requires distribution network service providers (DNSPs) to prepare and publish a new Distribution Network Development Plan (DNDP) with a 20-year horizon, giving a clearer long-term view of how networks plan to adapt to the uptake of consumer energy.

“All households and businesses can share in the benefits of better informed and targeted investments to the grid, with network costs accounting for up to half of a typical power bill,” the AEMC says.

Enhanced planning and reporting is also expected to complement the work being done through the AEMC’s reviews into electricity pricing and network regulation, as well as the National CER Roadmap.

Energy Consumers Australia (ECA), the industry body that initiated the rule change request, says distribution network planning rules had not been updated in decades, leaving a clear gap in the regulatory framework and leaving consumers more exposed to unnecessary costs.

“Network costs make up more than 30% of consumers’ bills,” the ECA’s executive manager of advocacy and policy, Julian Egan, said on Thursday. 

“This change will help networks realise the full potential of CER by avoiding new costly network upgrades that would otherwise be passed on to customers. 

“The rule change will also be important as an accountability mechanism,” Egan says. 

“Greater visibility of where network investment is needed and whether networks are taking full advantage of non-network options, including CER, will inform revenue allocation processes – what networks get paid – while empowering both regulators and watchdogs.

“This rule change is effectively the ‘midwife’ to the new energy ecosystem,” Egan adds. 

“The transition could not move forward without the new insights this planning will offer, the pathway it sets for the integration of CER and new competitive network and consumer services it will help create.”

The finer details

Data

According to its final determination, the AEMC says it identified issues with the availability of distribution network data, particularly for parts of the grid below substation level, including for the lower voltage network.

“Poor visibility of the existing state of the low voltage distribution network makes it difficult for distribution service users, such as consumers and CER investors, to understand the current state of the distribution network, such as network constraints, that may impact their network usage and investments.”

The report says that while technology like smart meters are improving data visibility, and DNSPs are taking steps to improve things on their side, too, the lack of a standardised approach is resulting in a lack of consistency, effectiveness and transparency across the NEM.

The solution the AEMC has come up with is to establish a new distribution network data reporting framework in the National Energy Rules (NER) that requires DNSPs to report distribution network data in accordance with AER guidelines.

The AER guidelines – which are yet to be prepared – will be designed to improve visibility on the state of distribution networks, while ensure these changes have a net economic benefit and protect confidential and private information.

Implementation of the distribution network data reporting framework will be completed by 1 September 2028 and the AER must develop the distribution data reporting guidelines by 1 March 2028. DNSPs must comply with the guidelines within 6 months, by 1 September 2028.

Planning

On planning, the AEMC says that the increasing uptake of CER is creating emerging challenges and opportunities that require efficient and transparent longer term planning to proactively identify the parts of their networks that are most likely to face challenges, and develop long term plans to address them.

“While many DNSPs already develop longer term plans, these plans may not be transparently shared …[and are] not prepared on a consistent basis,” the determination says.

“These issues make it difficult to develop a coherent long term view of distribution plans and trends in the NEM. This creates challenges for providers of non-network options to identify opportunities to offer solutions to DNSPs for removing network constraints.

“It also makes it more difficult for distribution service users, such as consumers, and CER investors to make informed investments.”

To address these problems, the final rule replaces the current distribution annual planning report with a longer term Distribution Network Development Plan (DNDP), which networks must prepare once every 5 years, in conjunction with their regulatory proposals.

DNSPs will also be required to adopt a 20 year planning horizon and, “to the extent practicable, to adopt inputs, assumptions and scenarios that are consistent with the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO’s) inputs, assumptions and scenarios report (IASR).

They are also required to consider other scenarios that are reasonable and appropriate, giving them flexibility to deviate from the IASR to account for local factors at the distribution level.

If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.