Load shed warning (LOR3) issued by AEMO for Tuesday in South Australia
It's not looking that great, currently, for the supply/demand balance in South Australia this week - when viewing predispatch, ST PASA and AEMO's Market Notices
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.
Winter 2013 in the NEM
A collection of analysis, observations and commentary about what we see (and have time to comment on) in terms of winter 2013 in Australia’s National Electricity Market
The return of the evening price spikes as the winter demand shape arrives a little early
The distinctive winter demand shape returns - and with it comes the evening peaks in prices (even on a Sunday).
A chilly autumn morning drives demand higher in Tasmania
Tasmania shivers this morning, driving electricity demand higher
Why are we completing this extensive review of what happened over a very volatile summer in QLD – and why, and what the future implications might be?
Why are we investing significant time in completing this review of what was remarkable price volatility in QLD over summer? We're primarily a software company that develops shrink-wrapped products used by about 100 market...
Areas of deeper analysis
Posting commentary on WattClarity meets certain customer needs – but there are occasions where deeper analysis is warranted (and requested by our customers). Where we publish more comprehensive reports, they will be listed here.
Morning price spikes in SA with no wind or coal
Augurs to be an interesting day in South Australia today, with two (now three) price spikes already this morning - due in part to no supplies from coal, or from wind.
Retail Electricity Prices
Historically most of our posts have been based on observations about the wholesale market. More recently we have also begun to have a look at retail prices, more directly. Here’s some articles on the...
What’s caused the drop in brown coal production?
Prompted by a reader's question, we provide some further analysis into which brown coal plants have been declining output in recent times, and why this might be the case.
Price spikes in SA at 23:35 with the switch-in of off-peak hot water
A price spike late at night in South Australia, not long after posting other comments about low surplus generation capacity.
SA prices rise as Surplus Capacity drops to levels not seen since 2004
Spot prices in South Australia have been seen to be higher in the month of April than in the prior months, which is somewhat counter-intuitive. Prices also spiked this evening on a number of...
Animated illustration of Queensland Region volatility on 20th December 2012
Here's an animated view of how price volatility emerged in the Queensland region of the National Electricity Market emerged on 20th December 2012 - and the range of factors that contributed.
Macarthur Wind Farm opened today – but the wind did not show up for the opening
The Macarthur Wind Farm opening was officially opened today, but the wind did not make an appearance.
Highest electricity demand for Victoria in four years last Tuesday (12th March) – and 400MW of DSR operates
Following some tweets from the esaa mentioning how the demand in Victoria on Tuesday 12th March was the highest seen for four years, we had a look back through our records on the day.
… and so the winners are…
Recapping who's won the Beefmaster Premium BBQ (and 5 other prizes as well) as the "Best Demand Forecasters in the NEM" for summer 2012-13
Recapping NEM-wide demand for summer 2012-13
A view of how NEM-wide demand trended over summer, with respect to our Best Demand Forecaster in the NEM competition.
Do you know of someone who could be our Energy Market Analyst (initially short-term contract)?
WattClarity is one way we strive to help people make better decisions – by making the energy market clearer, and more understandable. Do you know of someone who can help us to expand the...
Long-term trend shows coal being crunched
A chart and a table presented today at FutureGAS highlighting how the dominance of coal in power generation across the NEM is starting to shift.
Autumn 2013 in the NEM
After an eventful summer 2012-13 in the NEM, where we saw a heatwave early in the season lead into flooding rains (again) – and a new “Best Demand Forecaster” crowned, we progressed into what...
Millmerran station trip drives prices sky high
At 23:05 on Saturday 9th March AEMO advised that the Millmerran power station units 1 and 2 tripped simultaneously at 22:07 (58 minutes prior) - for reasons still unknown. Here's how we saw it...