Some of the ‘Major Reviews’ in the history of the NEM
I thought it would be useful to pull together this (incomplete) tabulated list of major reviews in the history of the NEM.
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.
AEMO forecasts MSL1 for the coming Saturday 4th October 2025 and Sunday 5th October 2025
On Monday 29th September 2025 the AEMO alerted of possible MSL1 for the coming weekend (Sat 4th October and Sunday 5th October) in Victoria.
A quick review of QLD solar (and curtailment) on Monday 29th September 2025 with price at MPF
On LinkedIn someone wrote about the QLD price dropping to the Market Price Floor for the 10:05 and 10:10 dispatch interval today (Mon 29th Sept 2025). So I had a quick look
Start date of short notice outage at ER03 delayed again, now Friday 3rd October 2025
Late on Thursday 25th September 2025, the expected start of the short-notice outage at ER03 was pushed back again (this time by a week).
Yet another data point raising questions about whether Eraring will be able to close in 2027, as per current plan
An article in the print version of the AFR this morning (asking more question about the achievability of the closure of Eraring in 2027) prompts some more head scratching.
Tesla Energy whitepaper ‘The Role of Grid-Forming Inverters in Providing Inertia (in the NEM)’ will be of interest
It was the RenewEconomy article some weeks ago that initially drew our attention to this White Paper ‘The Role of Grid-Forming Inverters in Providing Inertia (in the NEM)’ from Tesla Energy - but we...
The start of the unplanned outage at ER03 is delayed till early Saturday morning 27th September 2025
As a short follow-on article now mid-morning Thursday 25th September 2025 to highlight the delay in the start of the unplanned outage at ER03 as one of the key drivers in AEMO's cancellation of...
Unplanned outage at YWPS2 extended – return to service slated for 15th December 2025 (and may well extend further)
We noticed today (Wednesday 24th September) an ~8 week extension added onto the expected return to service date for YWPS2, which tripped offline due to 'LP turbine issues' in August 2025.
Some leading indicators of possible volatility in NSW on Thursday evening 24th September 2025
A quick look forward (past the forecast LOR1) to tomorrow evening in NSW, Thursday 25th September 2025.
A quick review of AEMO direction for System Strength in NSW back on Thu 28th August 2025
With the need for an early morning direction flagged for NSW on Thursday 25th September 2025, we take a quick look back 4 weeks ago (to Thursday 28th August 2025) when it happened.
AEMO notes possible early-morning direction in NSW on Thursday 25th September 2025
Worth calling out MN129729 published on Wednesday 24th September 2025 at 14:29 about possible early-morning intervention in NSW for System Strength reasons
ER03 now (again) slated to come offline early Thursday morning 25th September 2025
Following from the quick look at the unplanned outage for MP2 (now underway) there's some difference in the picture for the unplanned outage for ER03.
Yes, MP2 did come offline in the early hours of Wednesday morning 24th September 2025
A short note looking at the commencement of the unplanned outage for MP2 on Wednesday morning 24th September 2025
AEMO oscillates warnings – possible need to intervene in NSW on Thu 25th Sept 2025 for System Strength reasons
At 15:30 today (Tuesday 23rd September 2025) the AEMO flagged in MN129259 a possible need to intervene in NSW this Thursday 25th September 2025 due to forecast low System Strength.
MT PASA shows forecast Low Reserve Conditions in both NSW (Aug-Sept 2027) and SA (Dec 2026 to March 2027)
Today's MT PASA update features forecast tight supply-demand balance in both the SA and NSW regions at various times - in terms of both annual Unserved Energy, and Low Reserve Conditions.
Belatedly noting 16 winners announced (on Tuesday 16th September 2025) in Capacity Investment Scheme auctions
Coincident with last week's CEC's QCES in Brisbane, the Federal Government announced 16 winners for 'Tender 3' of the Capacity Investment Scheme.
Prices for Lower Regulation FCAS elevated across the mainland Sunday afternoon 21st September 2025
A short article looking at some elevated prices for Regulation Lower FCAS on Sunday afternoon 21st September 2025
A brief recap of a large afternoon frequency wobble on the NEM mainland on Saturday 20th September 2025
We noticed yesterday (Saturday 20th September 2025) a large afternoon dip in frequency down towards (but not outside) the limits of the NOFB - and briefly explore here.
Australian Government vows to cut its emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035
On Thursday 18th September 2025, the much-awaited announcement has been made about our climate targets for 2035.
ESIG Report ‘Testing the Performance of Grid-Forming Resources’ released
Today we received notification from ESIG of the release of their report ‘Testing the Performance of Grid-Forming Resources’.