Supporting your grid compliance obligations

Clutch Compliance can become your trusted compliance partner, supporting your grid connection compliance management program at all stages. We will lead you in the identification of your grid compliance obligations, actively monitor your adherence to these obligations on an ongoing basis, and should the need arise, support your recovery from any non-compliances.

The focus on grid compliance in Australia has sharpened significantly in recent years, building on learnings from South Australia’s state blackout in late 2016 and in addressing new power system security challenges amidst the rapid growth of intermittent, renewable energy generators connecting to the grid.

Compliance Obligations

Enforcement of grid compliance obligations is stronger than ever with regulators now:

Building up the capacity and capabilities of their enforcement resources;
Discovering rising incidences of non-compliance in operational asset management and market participation practices; and
Leveraging significantly-strengthened legal powers including federal prosecutions resulting in large fines, reputational damage and enforceable undertakings surrounding participants’ compliance programs.

In its Annual Compliance and Enforcement Report (July 2021), the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) spoke of “record penalties and enforcement outcomes”, noting the “significant scaling up of the penalties available to the courts and the AER” and emphasised its ability, in the most serious cases, to “seek penalties of up to $10M (or potentially more for large companies) for alleged breaches of the energy laws”. In this ever-more challenging regulatory environment, good contemporary practice in managing your grid connection compliance obligations is more important than ever and this is where Clutch Compliance can become your trusted compliance partner, supporting your grid connection compliance management program at all stages. We will lead you in the identification of your grid compliance obligations (150-200 obligations per asset), actively monitor your adherence to these obligations on an ongoing basis, and, should the need arise, support your recovery from any non-compliances.

This end-to-end approach delivers a range of benefits including:

Accelerating the development of a strong compliance culture

Demonstrating good contemporary practice; continuous improvement focus; building credibility and confidence with boards, executive management, regulators and other key stakeholders

Avoiding non-compliance penalties

Ensuring all compliance obligations are proactively monitored and tracked to completion to meet the expectation of regulators

Reducing non-compliance risks

The likelihood of large fines, operational constraints, disconnection and associated reputational damage

Cost avoidance

Eliminating the need to employ and supervise internal overhead resources and avoiding the associated staff turnover risks

Well planned, transparent and efficient compliance programs

Enabling accurate cost and resource budgeting of compliance activities as well as regular reporting on the status of your assets’ compliance obligations

Peace-of-mind

Having ongoing access to specialist support resources and knowing a trusted partner is keeping a permanent watch on compliance performance and the impacts of regulatory change on the compliance program

Cost-effectiveness and cost certainty

Leveraging Clutch Compliance’s economy-of-scale benefits, price discounting for multi-asset programs and a multi-year fixed price structure for the compliance monitoring service

Continuity of compliance focus

Systematic and proactive focus on your compliance obligations ensuring operational distractions don't impact compliance activities

Services

Baselining & Monitoring

Baselining to ensure a full set of grid connection compliance obligations are captured, we will undertake a review of all compliance documentation (generator licence, generator registration, connection agreements, statutory obligations etc). Once this full set of obligations has been captured, the team at Clutch Compliance will work with your internal resources to ensure detailed management plans are developed to ensure full transparency of the timing, effort and volume of compliance activity. Monitoring to follow the baselining activity, we will upload your baselined obligations into our bespoke compliance system and then track and report the status of each obligation. Regular follow up will ensure every opportunity is provided to streamline the resolution of all your compliance obligations. Each year re-baselining of the compliance obligations will occur to incorporate changes to your asset, commercial agreements or any regulatory changes impacting your operations.

Recovery

When a critical non-compliance occurs, Clutch Compliance will be available to provide support (if required) to ensure non compliances are assessed, recovery plans set, stakeholders notified, and resolution promptly achieved. Full progress reporting will be provided through to close out.