How does the PRC market work?

The PRC market is governed similarly to the NSW Energy Saving Certificate (ESC) market. Each year, there is a PRC target that is the approximate number of certificates liable entities will have to surrender to meet their obligations.

In the event of a market oversupply, depressed pricing is relatively routine, and conversely in periods of undersupply pricing tends to edge towards the tax-effective penalty rate per PRC. This rate is currently set at $2.66*, which places the tax effective penalty rate at approximately $3.45.

*As at August 2026