EXPLORE KNOWLEDGE BASE
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CERI Knowledge Base
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About the CERI knowledge base
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Introduction to Australia’s electricity markets
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Australian consumer insights
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CER technical and interoperability standards
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Connecting a customer to an electricity network
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Connecting a generator to a distribution network
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Utility interconnection (CSIP-AUS)
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Dynamic network export and generation control schemes
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Network load control schemes
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Network tariffs and network support services
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Participating in the National Electricity Market
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Participating in a frequency control market
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Participating in the RERT
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Participating in the Wholesale Electricity Market (Western Australia)
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Participating in the I-NTEM (NT)
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Cyber security and data privacy arrangements
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Consumer protection frameworks
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Participating in a frequency control market
Last Updated on 5 March 2026
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Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) are markets operated by AEMO to keep the power system operating within the Frequency Operating Standard (FOS). They are essential to maintaining system security and are delivered by a wide range of technologies, including generation, storage, and increasingly, flexible load and CER. FCAS is one of several types of ancillary services procured by AEMO to manage real-time system stability and respond to disturbances.
While Western Australia also operates framework for frequency response, the design and procurement arrangements for these services differ from the NEM and are addressed separately in Section 14 - Participating in the Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market.
This section covers:
- The requirements and process for participating in FCAS markets, including registration with AEMO, compliance with the MASS, and technical, metering, and verification obligations
- The types of FCAS (Contingency and Regulation), their operational differences, and the technical standards for participation, including the role of generation, storage, flexible load, and CER
- Registration pathways for different participant types (generators, aggregators, DRSPs, SRAs), and the operational and compliance requirements for each, including the use of DUIDs
- The FCAS bidding process, including minimum bid sizes, forecasting requirements, and the need to manage variability in aggregated CER portfolios
- Technical and operational requirements for registering technologies or loads for FCAS, including metering, control, and compliance testing at both facility and aggregated portfolio levels
- The sequence of FCAS event operations, from bidding and enablement to autonomous response and settlement
- Ongoing compliance, testing, and performance management expectations for participants, especially CER aggregators
- Public information resources on FCAS markets,
- Future directions for FCAS and CER participation, including technical challenges, regulatory reforms, international developments, and the role of trials and sandboxes in expanding CER involvement.
Participation in FCAS requires formal registration with AEMO and the classification of the relevant plant or aggregated portfolio as an Ancillary Service Unit. Participants must demonstrate compliance with the MASS, which sets out the technical performance, metering, and verification requirements for each FCAS service. This includes simulation studies, commissioning tests, installation of high-speed metering and telemetry equipment, and the capability to receive dispatch instructions and submit operational data through AEMO’s MarketNet platform.