PIAC lodged a submission to the Energy Security Board’s (ESB) consultation paper on a data strategy for the National Electricity Market (NEM). The strategy is intended to provide clear principles to guide how data is managed in the energy market to maximise benefits and the long-term interests of consumers. PIAC broadly agrees with the strategy objective of meeting this through five proposed dimensions of system and market operations: market transparency; regulation and performance monitoring; planning and investment; and research and policy making. PIAC also commends the ESB for explicitly including researchers and policy makers.
There is significant benefit to consumers made possible from improving access to data – either directly to consumers to enable better informed decisions or indirectly through more efficient design, investment and operation of the NEM. PIAC supports the ESB’s proposed principles which highlight the importance of providing benefits to consumers, and that this should not be hampered by attempts to preserve commercial advantage or minimise costs to businesses.
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