Regulatory Updates

The Reliability Panel's Template for Compliance Programs replaces the 2019 Template for Generator Compliance Programs — the document most compliance programs in service today were built against. It was published on 30 July 2026 and applies from 27 August 2026. Compliance programs must be consistent with it by 27 February 2027. This is a rewrite, not a refresh. Here's what actually moved. What changed structurally 2019 2026 Title Template for Generator Compliance Programs Temp

Here's a scenario every asset manager will recognise. The OEM pushes an inverter firmware update — improved fault ride-through logic, better harmonic performance, routine stuff. It's applied across the site during a maintenance window. Operationally, nothing skips a beat. Under the Template for Compliance Programs, that update is a compliance event. In fact it's the Template's own worked example — Chapter 3 uses an inverter control system update to illustrate exactly this cat

Principle 2 of the Template for Compliance Programs contains a sentence we think will reshape how the NEM approaches compliance: continuous plant monitoring is the preferred approach, where practicable — and where it isn't implemented, a Registered Participant must document its reasons and put alternative regimes in place that still provide reasonable assurance. That's a monitor-or-explain regime. And it reflects where the power system has genuinely landed. What happened to t

If you read one chapter of the Template for Compliance Programs, make it Chapter 2. The compliance principles have always been the philosophical core of the Template — but they've now been rebuilt and given a much clearer job: every compliance program should be consistent with them, and any deviation from the Template must be justified against them. Here's the full set, in plain language: Balance risk against cost. Testing and monitoring regimes should weigh the cost of compl

The Reliability Panel has published what used to be called the Generator Compliance Template. It has a new name — the Template for Compliance Programs — and that rename is doing more work than you might think. For those newer to the framework: under NER rule 4.15(c), every Registered Participant who operates plant subject to a performance standard must institute and maintain a compliance program consistent with the Template. The Template was published on 30 July 2026 and appl

Where continuous monitoring is in place, the AEMC now supports extended intervals between active compliance tests.

VeriConneX has just lodged a submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) Reliability Panel's issues paper for the Template for Compliance Programs. https://www.aemc.gov.au/market-reviews-advice/compliance-template-review-2026 The current template was designed during a time when the generation mix looked very different. The Panel's issues paper recognises we're now connecting integrated resource systems (batteries), synchronous condensers, and registered lo

After monitoring 3GW+ across Australia, we strongly believe that effective GPS compliance programs rest on four pillars: 1. Monitoring – Continuous automated performance tracking. Catches issues early. 2. Testing – Validates edge conditions. Essential, but complementary to monitoring. 3. Modelling – Periodic validation that models match reality. Critical for investigations. 4. Reporting – Proactive status updates, not reactive record-keeping. A testing-centric framework no lo

AEMO just mapped out Australia's grid future. The compliance implications are significant. Their 2025 System Security Transition Plan confirms what many of us have been observing: the way we're thinking about grid operation is changing in real-time. Three insights that matter for renewable asset owners: System complexity is accelerating – As synchronous generation retires, technical performance requirements for inverter-based resources are becoming more stringent and more scr