The Victorian Government Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is currently consulting on the concept of a Market Facilitation Platform, other measures, to better facilitate access to Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the small-to-medium sized commercial and industrial businesses.

AGL supports the Victorian Government’s strategic objective to help deliver more competitive electricity prices for business and stimulate a more stable pipeline of new energy projects in Victoria, as part of its broader suite of policies and programs that aim to support the energy transition.

We welcome the Victorian Government’s investigation into the PPA market and the feasibility of a Market Facilitation Platform (MFP), or other measures, to contribute towards these policy objectives.

We note DEWLP’s analysis that identifies a range of barriers commercial and industrial (C&I) electricity users face in entering wholesale and retail PPAs. AGL appreciates that these barriers are more pronounced for small-to-medium sized C&I businesses, and we see value in seeking to develop cost-effective approaches to better facilitate access to PPAs for the small-to-medium sized C&I market segment.

We do not consider there is a well-established need to facilitate access to PPA for larger C&I electricity users.

AGL believes that the Victorian government should only develop and operate a MFP if they identify a failure in the market to deliver such a solution and there is a genuine demand for such a service. It is critical that consumer demand for access to PPAs by the small-to-medium sized C&I market segment drives the development of such platforms, and there is only a need for government involvement if the market does not provide a platform in response to this demand.

We elaborate a range of matters DELWP should take into consideration in its assessment in our formal submission.