Articles by 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.




Demand Side Response

A collection of articles to do with demand side response (otherwise known as curtailability or demand response) in the National Electricity Market



Thoughts on a “Diabolical Problem”

A few quick notes about the recent moves in the USA towards a national emissions trading system, and implications for Australia - following a presentation by a US consultant.








Impact of the GFC on the NEM?

Out of curiosity, we have performed some analysis of the extent to which the GFC has had an impact on the level of consumption of electricity across the NEM.





Price cap lifted, and Tassie price spikes again

We reported previously that a price cap was invoked in Tasmania on Tuesday 16th June because the Cumulative Price Threshold was reached. In official terminology, this was an Administered Price Period (APP). At 04:00AM...


Tassie hits the Cumulative Price Threshold

For only the third occasion in the 10 1/2 years that the NEM has been operational, the Cumulative Price Threshold (CPT) has been reached. Yesterday evening, the CPT was reached in the Tasmanian region.



A review of recent winters in the NEM

For those who weren't aware, Winter 2009 has seen us offer our "Who's the Best Demand Forecaster in the NEM" challenge - as a chance for the market to redeem itself, following what happened...


Prices Surge in QLD and NSW as Demand Climbs

We noted yesterday (Wednesday 10th June) that NEM-wide demand climbed past 32,000MW for the first time this winter. The following evening saw demand climb to similar levels (a peak of 32,054MW at 18:20 -...