Today’s presentation to CEC’s Market & Grid Directorate
We thank the Clean Energy Council for the opportunity to share insights into revenue trends, cost trends, and analysis of upcoming changes for units operating in the NEM.
Areas of deeper analysis
Three headline observations, about the use of proxies for System Frequency in Frequency Control mechanisms
Various authors have shared articles about frequency, frequency control and Regulation FCAS in recent times (including 6 from Linton). Here's three things that jumped out to me in these pieces of analysis.
Regulation prices and enablement – a historical review
The introduction of frequency performance payments in 2025 changes how costs of regulating frequency are quantified and allocated. This article inspects historical trends in regulation FCAS enablement levels and prices.
Comparing Frequency Measures (Frequency, FI, FM)
The faster-moving nature of the FM, with the introduction of FPP, removes predictability in the indicator for frequency performance.
NEMDE nightmares – parallel pathways and clashing constraints
Prompted by a question by a client in a training session for a new ez2view user, guest author Allan O'Neil has written 2,940 words to explain the price outcome in one particular dispatch interval...
Some remarks on Victorian demand
Allan O'Neil takes a closer look at Victorian electricity demand on Sunday, February 2nd — which stood out as an unprecedented anomaly when looking at the history of weekend demand in the region.
PEC Stage 1 in operation – be careful what you wish for
Guest author Allan O'Neil looks at how operation of Project EnergyConnect Stage 1 may affect market outcomes, with some early indications that impacts won't be as straightforward as you might think.
Final Report from the Select Committee on Energy Planning and Regulation in Australia
On Friday 20th December 2024 we saw the release of the Final Report from the Select Committee on Energy Planning and Regulation in Australia, which has been run by the Australian Senate in recent...
Mainland grid frequency: cat ears and golf
It was captured by a keen eyed reader, that the distribution of mainland grid frequency in recent times now exhibits cat ears.
NEM Mainland frequency patterns – historical overview from 2024
In this overview, we take a longitudinal look back at how frequency has changed over the years.
Watt scarcity?
Guest author Allan O'Neil examines some recent episodes of price volatility (particularly 30th July to 5th August 2024) and whether they were driven by a shortage of supply, or other factors.
With the benefit of hindsight – or who’d be an auto-bidder?
Following on from earlier articles about price volatility on Tue 30th July 2024 (particularly in South Australia), guest author Allan O'Neil takes a closer look at the operation of battery units in South Australia.
A bounce back: a review of Q2 2024 prices
We just witnessed another eventful Q2, with at least four drivers contributing to significant price volatility. This is our annual review of Q2 prices, where we compare these outcomes against the long-term trend.
The Grattan report ‘Keeping the lights on’ is worth a read
Enroute to Melbourne today for the EUAA National Conference starting tomorrow, I grabbed some flight time to have a quick read through the Grattan Institute’s latest offering – a 45-page report appropriately titled ‘Keeping...
Updated trend of ‘ENERGY’ bids in red, green and blue
Last Tuesday 23rd April 2024 I spoke with an audience organised by BofA Securities with respect to ‘Risk, Uncertainty and Volatility in the energy transition’. Here's one illustration of why the spread of spot...
Optimising a highly renewable NEM from scratch, Part 2
In Part 2 of their modelling and analysis project, David Leitch and Paul Bandarian discuss the modelled results of their sharpe ratio-maximised VRE system, including additional considerations regarding transmission.
Case Study of inertia supplied by source in the NSW grid on Tuesday 14th November 2023
With GenInsights Quarterly Update for 2023 Q4 completed, and some time till the end of 2024 Q1, we've looked back at Tuesday 14th November 2023 (when AEMO had concerns about low System Strength in...
Optimising a highly renewable NEM from scratch
David Leitch and Paul Bandarian present and discuss the model they've created which uses a maximum Sharpe ratio wind and solar portfolio for the 2025 calendar year, drawing upon data from the AEMO's 2024...
Convective downdrafts and high-voltage transmission lines
In light of another transmission tower collapse caused by convective wind gusts, we've invited wind loading expert Dr John Holmes to explain this phenomena.
The Generator Statistical Digest 2023 (GSD2023) is released
It's Thursday 15th February 2024 and (in amongst the detailed analysis relating to Tue 13th Feb 2024 in Victoria) we're releasing the GSD2023 ... the Generator Statistical Digest for the 2023 calendar year.