Last week, Essential Energy published their Distribution Annual Planning Report (DAPR) for 2016. The company is required to conduct an annual planning review and publish the results in the DAPR, which includes the planning for all assets and activities carried out that would materially affect the performance of its network.
The purpose of the DAPR is to:
- Provide transparency to Essential Energy’s decision making processes and provide a level playing field for all regions of the national electricity market in terms of attracting investment and promoting efficient decisions.
- Present the annual planning review results covering a 5 year forward planning period for distribution assets.
- Inform registered participants and interested parties on the annual planning review outcomes, including capacity and load forecasts for sub-transmission lines, zone substations, sub-transmission-distribution connection points, and where identified any 11kV primary distribution feeders overloaded or forecast to be overloaded within the next two years.
- Provide details of Essential Energy’s Demand Management activities and Non-Network options each year, and plans for demand management and embedded generation over the forward planning period.
- Assist non-network service providers, TNSPs, DNSPs, and connection applicants to make efficient investment decisions.
The DAPR seeks to inform stakeholders and provides advice on emerging network limitations and network adequacy. It also provides details of the expected time required to allow appropriate corrective network augmentation, non-network alternatives or modifications to connection facilities.
The full report is available on the Essential Energy website here.