Generation
Absorbs curtailment
Uses wind and solar output that would otherwise be switched off.
For the system
What a DAME site does for the system.
Price and load
Responds to the market
Draws less when prices rise or supply is short, and more when there is surplus.
Network
Uses spare network capacity
Sites connect where the network has room. Networks earn more from assets already built.
Demand
Adds load when demand is low
Flexible compute runs when rooftop solar drives grid demand down. Low demand is a security risk AEMO has to manage.
Market and regulation
Inside the work on how large loads connect.
Large flexible loads are new to the NEM, and the rules for them are still being written. DAME is part of that work.
- Market Participant since 2025
- DAME is a registered Market Participant in the NEM, in the Market Customer category, and buys energy in the wholesale market under the same rules as every other participant. The AEMC has advised Energy Ministers that large data centres should register in the market.
- NEM access standards
- We sit on the technical committee for the NEM access standards work, which covers the technical standards large loads must meet to connect and operate.
- Market bodies and networks
- We work with the market bodies and network operators as the rules for large flexible loads are developed.
- Flexible since 2021
- Flexible compute has run since 2021. At our R&D centre in Tasmania we have proven a site can step back within seconds.
Registration
Standards
Engagement
Performance
Our positions
Where we stand
Flexible load is a grid asset. A load that can step back on call helps keep the system secure, and planning and connection rules should treat it that way.
Connection terms should reflect flexibility. Large loads that respond to the grid should be able to connect on terms that recognise what they give back.
Curtailed energy should find a use. New demand beside existing wind and solar puts energy to work that is switched off today, without new lines.
Talk to our market team.
For connection enquiries, rule changes, working groups and media.
Speak to the team