The 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 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.
Recommendations
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1. |
Strengthen the TEM Rules Objective to expressly include affordability, equitable access to essential electricity services, emissions reduction, environmental sustainability, resilience, and the interests of current and future consumers. |
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2. |
Guarantee First Nations and consumer participation by prescribing First Nations organisations, affected communities and consumer representatives as stakeholders, and requiring First Nations and consumer representation on each PAIR Panel. |
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Prevent entrenching a two-tier electricity system by publishing a co-designed pathway towards equivalent reliability, service, planning and clean-energy outcomes for areas in the Territory outside the regulated systems. |
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Make electricity planning in the Territory genuinely forward-looking by requiring the RESIP to address future demand, major new loads, climate risks, system security, reliability and the infrastructure needed to support the Territory’s economic development. |
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Integrate CER, DER and smart energy systems into planning, network access and procurement, including rooftop solar, batteries, flexible demand, virtual power plants and community microgrids. |
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Protect and clarify pathways for First Nations community energy projects so that central procurement and restricted network access do not exclude smaller, staged, innovative or community-led projects. |
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Embed enforceable First Nations participation requirements in procurement, including criteria covering ownership and equity, governance, employment, training, First Nations business procurement and enduring community benefits |
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Match the proposed concentrated procurement powers with strong accountability, including independent oversight, public reporting, procurement transparency, probity safeguards, review rights and effective dispute resolution. |
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9. |
Make the reforms an implementation vehicle for the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy by requiring the Minister, NTESMO, market bodies and PAIR Panels to have regard to the Strategy when making rules and procedures, preparing the RESIP and conducting procurement. |
Read our submission