2007 Regional Minimum Reserve Levels

On 30 August 2007, the AEMC gave notice of its Rule determination regarding the Abolition of Snowy Region. The Rule commenced on 30 August 2007, and the abolition of the Snowy region is due to occur on 1 July 2008 under the Rules.

In light of the decision to abolish the Snowy region, a review was conducted of the 2006 Reserve level assessment to determine the new minimum reserve levels under the new regional boundary configuration. Note that the 2006 assessment itself remains valid as the underlying physical transmission network, generation and load conditions have not changed.

As a consequence, the minimum reserve levels shown below which are currently in use by AEMO, do not change. The net import limits, required for implementation of the minimum reserve levels in MT PASA will change, following the allocation of Snowy generation between Victoria and New South Wales.

1. This is a local requirement and must be met by generation within the region.
2. The minimum reserve level for the combined Victorian and South Australian regions (615 MW), and the local South Australian local requirement (-50 MW), must both be met.

1. The minimum reserve level in Tasmania is currently set to be the size of the largest generating unit in the region. Tasmania 's minimum reserve level is calculated independent of any assumed interconnector power flow into the region, and therefore a net import limit is not applied when assessing Tasmania 's reserve margin in MT PASA.

The following report prepared by ROAM Consulting ("Translation of Minimum Reserve Levels after Abolishing the Snowy Region") describes in detail the process used to substantiate the resulting minimum reserve levels above.

Translation of Minimum Reserve Levels Following Abolition of the Snowy Region : ROAM Consulting Report  23 Nov 2007 | filename: 240-0024.pdf