As a result of the Reserve Capacity Mechanism (RCM) Review and the Demand Side Response (DSR) Review, the Minister made changes to the participation of Demand Side Programmes (DSPs) in the RCM.
The changes to the regime were designed to facilitate the provision of reserve capacity by DSPs that are aggregations of smaller loads or Distributed Energy Resources. The enhanced regime applies from the 2024 Reserve Capacity Cycle (from the 2026 Capacity Year).
While working on the implementation of these changes, AEMO identified some issues affecting their implementation and, potentially, the effective operation of DSPs in the RCM.
Consultation Paper
On 8 September 2025, Energy Policy WA published a Consultation Paper outlining six proposed changes to address the issues identified by AEMO and further considerations by Energy Policy WA.
The proposed changes will:
- Align Reserve Capacity Tests and tests via observation through Dispatch Instructions.
- Apply a consistent method for the determination of capacity shortfalls for a DSP during Reserve Capacity Tests and intervals in which Dispatch Instructions apply.
- Clarify that Market Participants must associate sufficient loads to their DSPs before the start of the Capacity Year to cover their total assigned Capacity Credits.
Stakeholders were invited to provide written feedback by 5:00pm (AWST) on 30 September 2025 by submitting comments to energymarkets@deed.wa.gov.au.
EPWA received two submissions, which are published below.
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