Queensland demand forecast to break 9,000MW for the first time next week

Was a humid ride home on the bike today in Brisbane, and a visitor we have tomorrow warned us that it’s not looking good for the next few days – so I took a look myself:

Hot and sticky forecast for Brisbane the next few days

No time for ties & jackets in the office, that’s for sure!

Being interstate yesterday and quizzed about Brisbane’s summer I concluded that it’s not been too bad, thus far – I was thinking that the demand had only reached the low 8,000MWs – and, as a result of this, prices have been relatively flat (compared to other recent summers).

Thinking it through more this evening, I realised I’d been overseas for most of December, so had missed days like the 11th December (the day of the highest demand in QLD so far) – but, even so, I had come into summer 15-16 expecting quite a bit more for Queensland.

Well, with Australia Day out of the way, that all that looks set to change soon…

Checking NEM-Watch this evening we see the Queensland demand up in the the yellow zone (something we see more often here because of the flatter load shape):

NEM-Watch showing demand up on a hot sticky evening in Queensland

Pulling a PASA chart from a widget within ez2view we see demand forecast to blast through 9,000MW on Monday and Tuesday next week (if this forecast – the 50% POE – holds true, this would break the previous record by about 500MW).

AEMO currently forecasting record levels QLD demand next week

If the weather holds true to predictions, watch out for some fireworks


About the Author

Paul McArdle
Paul was one of the founders of Global-Roam in February 2000. He is currently the CEO of the company and the principal author of WattClarity. Writing for WattClarity has become a natural extension of his work in understanding the electricity market, enabling him to lead the team in developing better software for clients. Before co-founding the company, Paul worked as a Mechanical Engineer for the Queensland Electricity Commission in the early 1990s. He also gained international experience in Japan, the United States, Canada, the UK, and Argentina as part of his ES Cornwall Memorial Scholarship.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*