QLD ‘Market Demand’ climbs past 9,500MW on Thursday 28th December 2023

I’m having an enforced rest-and-recuperation period between Christmas and New Year (thanks to the unwanted unwrapping of a COVID present under the Xmas tree) … but at least the cricket today is worth watching.

Such is the temperature outside in Brisbane, however, that I snuck a quick look at NEMwatch to see that the ‘Market Demand’ has reached just below 9,500MW, but is continuing to climb:

With respect to the image:

1)  In the image shown above, the level for the 17:20 dispatch interval is sitting at 9,496MW.

(a)  That’s only 623MW below the all-time record:

i.  which was set at 10,119MW set for the dispatch interval ending 17:30 on Tuesday 8th March 2022.

ii.  so well up towards the ‘red zone’ set on a sliding scale based on the historical range.

(b)  Remember that this is a very ‘sleepy’ period where there’s not much running in terms of commercial load (other than shopping post-Xmas), and even some industrial loads would be reduced.

(c)  Also worth noting (as Andrew Wilson reminds here) that this is also whilst there are ~50,000 homes around the Gold Coast still without power following Christmas storm activity.

… Not sure if there is any load still missing in Far North Queensland following TC Jasper?

(d)  This is ‘NEM time’, which is the same as Brisbane local time.

2)  Coming back a bit later, it appears (unless there is a second bounce, which sometimes happens) that the peak level was 9,753MWat 17:55 … so only 366MW below the all-time max.

Imagine what would have happened to the demand levels had this same weather pattern hit us late in January or early February 2024 with industry and commercial industrial energy users back at work!?

… surely it would have been setting a new all-time record?!

PS1 demand wrap

Updated firstly above with the final demand figure.

PS2 evening volatility

Per this second NEMwatch snapshot at 19:05, there’s also been a bit of spot price volatility with the setting of solar generation, and the injection of various forms of peaking power:

The IRPM for the QLD-only ‘Economic Island’ has also dropped below 15%.