AEMO as NSCAS Procurer of Last- Resort
The Network Support and Control Ancillary Services (NSCAS) Rule 2011 No. 2 determined by the AEMC and effective on 5 April 2012, provides a transparent national framework for the acquisition and use of NSCAS, thereby promoting the efficient use of network services.
The Rule gives transmission network service providers (TNSP) the primary responsibility for acquiring NSCAS. Each year AEMO will identify, in its National Transmission Network Development Plan (NTNDP), any gaps between the NSCAS needs of the power system and the known acquired NSCAS. This information will assist the TNSPs in their decision making with respect to the procurement of NSCAS. AEMO will be required to acquire NSCAS only to ensure power system security and reliability of supply of the transmission network in accordance with the power system security and reliability standards, only after the NSCAS gaps remain unmet after TNSP’s attempt to procure.
The NSCAS Tender Guidelines consultation consults on the tender process only and does not apply to any particular NSCAS need or location.
The flowchart below illustrates the process leading up to the decision on whether AEMO should procure NSCAS:
