The volatility of the NEM was showcased again on Monday as South Australia experienced two major price spikes in the space of an hour. Using NEM-Watch’s play back feature (screenshot below) we were able to relive when the two price spikes hit. At 2:35pm the South Australian dispatch price hit $2384.08 and then fell before spiking again at 3:10pm at $2410.23.
A screenshot from NEM-Watch at 3:10pm on Monday the 14th of December 2015.
Dan is a Market Analyst, who joined Global-Roam in June 2013.
He departed (and returned) for a couple of brief stints overseas, before rejoining the team permanently in late 2019. Alongside his work at Global-Roam, he has undertaken short-term contract roles as an analyst and researcher in various areas of the energy sector. Dan graduated from the Master of Sustainable Energy program at the University of Queensland in 2024.
With high temperatures forecast for SA (hence higher demand) coinciding with low wind, social media references to “blackout” increase. Is this helpful?
Just over 24 hours from making these comments, we saw prices jump sky-high in the mainland regions, and go the other way (to the negative price cap) in Tasmania.
If I had time, we’d explore three separate questions we have about what happened in South Australia on Wednesday 12th February 2025. In this article we take a first pass at one of those questions … what was the state of play in terms of contributions to meeting the very high level of demand?
Demand spiked, Angaston (diesel) dropped 37 MW, and Ladbroke (gas, price setter) was constrained down due to network limitations. Wind dropped 5 MW the first event and 18 MW the second time. Small changes compared to diesel and demand.
A screenshot from NEM-Watch at 3:10pm on Monday the 14th of December 2015.
What caused the spike in price? Was it a fall in wind production?
Demand spiked, Angaston (diesel) dropped 37 MW, and Ladbroke (gas, price setter) was constrained down due to network limitations. Wind dropped 5 MW the first event and 18 MW the second time. Small changes compared to diesel and demand.