The First Nations Clean Energy Network supports reform that can deliver a more planned, reliable, transparent and efficient Northern Territory electricity system.

But the architecture will not be fit for the Territory unless it is designed around the people and communities it serves, including First Nations communities, and around the technologies that will define the future system. 

Tranche 1 and the Territory Electricity Reform (TEM) program - the importance of getting it right 

The Territory Electricity Market (TEM) reform was approved by the NT Government in July 2025. 

Key characteristics of the TEM reform program are:

• implementation of the ‘public procurement model’ (PPM) in the Darwin-Katherine Electricity System (DKES), where a central buyer will procure all electricity services for the system;
• establishment of Territory Generation as the sole supplier of wholesale electricity services to the Alice Springs and Tennant Creek regulated electricity systems;
• separation of system control and market operator functions from Power and Water Corporation into an independent Northern Territory Electricity System and Market Operator (NTESMO), with responsibility for system planning in each of the regulated electricity systems; and
• changes to supporting governance arrangements, including establishing the rules for the operation of the system and market (TEM Rules), and designating the Minister for Energy as the authorised rule-making entity to provide coordinated policy development for the sector.

The First Nations Clean Energy Network has responded to the government’s Tranche 1 Exposure Drafts that include draft regulations for Stage 1 of the Amendment Act and TEM Rules Governance Chapter Part A.

Our submission on the tranche 1 exposure drafts associated with the TEM reform legislation

The Tranche 1 instruments should be amended to strengthen the Territory Electricity Market (TEM) Rules Objective and guarantee First Nations and consumer participation. 

The Government should also commit that the later planning, access, procurement and operational rules will integrate Consumer Energy Resources (CER) and Distributed Energy Resources (DER), protect pathways for First Nations community energy, plan credibly for future growth and provide accountability commensurate with the proposed concentration of institutional power. 

Most importantly, the Northern Territory should treat this reform as a practical implementation vehicle for the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy.

That means moving beyond acknowledgement to measurable action: shared decision-making, equitable access to reliable and affordable clean energy, future-proof community infrastructure, First Nations-led planning and projects, economic ownership and participation, and transparent reporting of outcomes. 

Read our full submission