AEMC finalises grid access rules for large data centres, with 30 MW threshold

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) released its final rule on grid access for large data centres on 12 November 2026, under the title Improving the NEM Access Standards – Package 2. The rule applies immediately.

The AEMC projects that electricity use by data centres will climb sevenfold by 2035, from 5 to 34 terawatt hours. On its figures, their share of total demand would go from around 3 per cent to around 13 per cent.

Under the rule, any large inverter-based load of 30 MW or more, data centres included, becomes subject to technical requirements, because connections of that size can materially affect the power system. Such loads must be able to ride through certain disturbances instead of dropping off the grid needlessly when it is stressed. Network businesses must also assess the combined effect of large inverter-based loads located near each other, since several connections can interact and together have a bigger impact than any one alone. AEMO is required to produce modelling guidance for large loads, which the AEMC said should be proportionate to a connection's potential impact and workable for industry.

The AEMC cited the behaviour of data centres' power electronics, which can react very quickly to changes in the system. It said that during network disturbances this technology has triggered major supply disruptions overseas, including 1,500 MW of simultaneous disconnections in Virginia in July 2024.

AEMC Commissioner Anna Collyer said the old settings no longer fit. "The existing access standards were developed for a very different power system dominated by traditional generation and relatively passive electricity loads," she said. She said the reforms are meant to let new data centres connect efficiently and securely, without other electricity consumers absorbing unexpected costs or risks.

Applicants far along in the connection process who have already negotiated their access standards get six months to finalise. That allows those close to concluding talks with their Network Service Provider to keep using the old standards and limits disruption to their applications.

The AEMC also issued a consultation paper on 12 November 2026 on the Operational Integration and visibility of large inverter-based loads rule change, which examines whether operational and long-term visibility of such loads needs to improve. That work sits within a wider data centre program that also covers cost recovery for network augmentations, data centre contracting obligations and a streamlined connections process.