30 April 2021 The Energy Security Board (ESB) has unveiled its long awaited package of market reform proposals as the industry scrambles to seize the opportunities from the rapidly accelerating shift to renewables, and the anticipated early exit from coal. The ESB options paper focuses on four different parts of the market: keeping the lights on with enough energy, providing essential grid services, the growth of distributed energy – now seen as a valuable asset rather than a liability – and grid congestion and network planning. But the most controversial aspect of its proposals will undoubtedly be the options to manage the exit of coal generators, including a so-called “physical certificate scheme” for reliability, described by some as an effective capacity market, or subsidy coal plants.