Australia’s Power System Frequency: Current Situation, Industrial Challenges, Efforts, and Future Research Directions

This industry-oriented paper presents an overview and in-depth analysis of previous and current situations of power system frequency response and control in Australia. The evaluation of different services provided by different electricity market players under the supervision of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) as an independent system operator provides lessons and an understanding of the current operation status with its real challenges and opportunities from frequency stability and security perspectives. Based on the evaluation of the current situation and future national planning, a number of research gaps and industrial technical issues are identified, and some perspectives on future research directions are presented to help move the power system transformation toward almost 100% renewable and more secure energy systems.