Noteworthy analysis of the state-wide blackout across South Australia on 28th September 2016
A listing of key reports and analysis into the SA blackout of 28th September 2016.
2017
Adding a Slice of Cheese
The South Australian Blackout of 28th September 2016 is not as simple as it looks.
End of an era at Hazelwood
A record of the closure of Hazelwood this week – and some initial thoughts on the implications
[POSTED 13:40] TC Debbie dampens electricity consumption in Queensland
A quick look (posted 13:40) at electricity consumption in Northern Queensland with the onset of Tropical Cyclone Debbie
A sudden series of SA spikes
Tight import limits on the Heywood interconnector and a lull in wind output saw price volatility return to South Australia earlier this week
NEM FCAS causer pays factor issues for wind and solar farms
Generators used to consider the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM) FCAS causers pays factors (CPF), used to allocate FCAS regulation costs across the market, as an obscure and unimportant technically challenging curiosity. Since 2014, the cost of FCAS regulation services for generators has increased from just under $5 million per year to greater than $60 million for 2016 and now has the attention of all of the generators, especially if their portfolio includes generation assets in regions with a lack of FCAS regulation providers and high prices such as South Australia.
Fast Frequency Service – Treating the symptom not the cause?
The National Electricity Market (NEM) is designed to operate at 50 Hz. Frequency deviation occurs when generation and load are mismatched. It is important in a lightly meshed and long network such as the NEM to maintain tight frequency control and that frequency response is available throughout the network.
Let’s talk about FCAS
Ancillary Services Matter! No longer just realm of electrical engineer or energy trading boffins, ancillary services (and particularly Frequency Control Ancillary Services or FCAS which will concentrate on today) have become front and centre in so many ways that barely a day goes by without market observers referring to grid stability, inertia or frequency management.
On batteries, and “fixing South Australia’s problems”
Some quick thoughts about Tesla’s promise to “fix South Australia’s power woes”. Which specific problem is Tesla promising to fix?
With the closure of Hazelwood looming, hedge contract prices climb skywards
Ominous signs for spot price outcomes through Q2 2016 in Victoria, as hedge contract prices climb prior to the imminent closure of Hazelwood.
Where is the east coast domgas development boom?
When markets operate normally, a sharp rise in the price of any commodity triggers a boom in exploration, development and new supply. But this is not seeming to happen in response to high domestic gas prices. In this article, guest author (Graeme Bethune) examines why.
Was South Australia lucky the lights stayed on last Friday?
Last Friday’s events took South Australia much closer to the brink of another Black System event than many seem to have realised
[UPDATED] AEMO Market Notice on “High Impact Outage” for tomorrow – and possible effect in South Australia
AEMO issues a Market Notice for a “High Impact Outage” – a term not used since 2012.
Collective skittishness about South Australia?
With high temperatures forecast for SA (hence higher demand) coinciding with low wind, social media references to “blackout” increase. Is this helpful?
Autumn 2017 in the NEM
Collection of articles written for Autumn 2017
A personal experience of spot-price paid solar injections
The recent demise of start-up retailer, Urth Energy (suspended from the market by the AEMO on 1st February) was an unfortunate development on this path of the energy transition.
EnerNOC seems to have grossly under-represented the amount of Demand Response active in the NEM
The level of Demand Response currently active in Australia’s National Electricity Market is higher than some are estimating.
Question – in an interconnected electricity system (and market), when did it become acceptable to neglect a systems view?
Because of (technical and commercial) interconnectedness in the National Electricity Market, the possibility of unintended consequences should be kept in mind
Analytical Challenge – keeping an open mind to positions expressed by a broad range of people
“Incumbency” seems to have become a pejorative in the NEM
Small solar owners saved the NSW electricity market $888 million during heatwave
New South Wales recently experienced a severe heatwave, which saw parts of the state exceed 45°C. During this three day period, small solar PV (i.e. PV systems that are not registered as generators in the NEM), generated about 17 GWh of power.