[1st post] AEMO forecasts near-record electricity demand in Queensland – late on a Sunday evening!

After the dramas that unfolded in South Australia on Wednesday, and in NSW on Friday, today it’s Queensland’s turn.

Here’s a snapshot from NEM-Watch at 10:10 this morning (NEM time, which also coincides with Brisbane time) showing how the Scheduled Demand is forecast to peak way up at 9,297MW in the half-hour ending 19:30 this evening:

2017-02-12-at-10-10-NEMwatch-QLDforecasthigh

This would be less than 100MW below the all-time record set earlier this summer – on Wednesday 18th January 2017 as recorded here on WattClarity.

And today’s a Sunday – astounding!

PS also note the very, very low demand level in Victoria – which is another story entirely.


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.

2 Comments on "[1st post] AEMO forecasts near-record electricity demand in Queensland – late on a Sunday evening!"

  1. I guess all those ‘pink bats’ that were installed a few years back have played a small part in helping save the day.

  2. with the temperatures Qld has been experiencing, I can’t see how Energex’s Peak Smart initiative would be too popular. It seems to me that if it is hot then the last thing people would want is for the network owner to throttle back their airconditioners.

    The little blip at the top of Qld’s demand curve seems to indicate some load control but it is so small now relative to the MD that I wonder whether it is worthwhile messing around with load control devices at the domestic level. I wonder how much hot water load is actually switched off during these hot afternoons. Not much I would have thought.
    And while we are on the subject of hot water, how many homes in Qld have solar PV and electric hot water ? Such craziness astounds me.

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