Based on forecasts NEMMCO had been providing through their PASA process, we expected that it might prove that this week would deliver huge demand levels, and high prices.
Not to disappoint, the market did deliver high levels of demand in all regions:
(a) Peak demand levels were reduced somewhat from the huge levels the previous week in Victoria and South Australia;
(b) Demand levels were also still building to the record level to be experienced the following week in NSW;
(c) Peak demand levels in Queensland were fairly steady (and high) for most weeks of summer.
(d) In combination, a new NEM-wide peak demand target of 30,994MW was set on Monday 23rd January.
A lot of residential load was disconnected very early on Wednesday night (5:30pm where I live) when there wasn’t much wind yet. This would seem to suggest that the Ergon system really is quite fragile. I will need follow this up with Ergon once the dust has settled. With the rediculous hikes in prices they have been charging in recent years, I expect a corresponding improvement in service.