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.
Articles by Paul McArdle
One of three founders of Global-Roam back in 2000, Paul has been CEO of the company since that time.
As an author on WattClarity, Paul's focus has been to help make the electricity market more understandable.
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 occasions above $500/MWh – here’s some of the reasons why.
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 scope of what we do in this space? Here’s details of the person we’re looking for…
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 would normally be the less eventful…
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 unfold at real time.
A late burst to summer in the south drives demand higher
Some high temperatures in Victoria and South Australia drive demand higher and, because of transmission constraints, the IRPM in the Economic Island lower.
Temperatures drive demand, and volatility, in Victoria and South Australia Monday 18th February
The price spiked yesterday (Monday 18th February) in South Australia and Victoria – here’s an overview of what happened.
Sorted entries, in our annual “Best Demand Forecaster” competition for 2012-13
A clear view of who are the bears, and who are the bulls, in terms of where they have forecasted the peak demand for summer 2012-13 will finally land.
Scorching Sydney drives demand today into the red zone
A record of the extreme temperatures across NSW today, driving demand in NSW up towards the all-time electricity demand record set 23 months ago.
Some factors that contributed to the remarkable volatility in Queensland over the weekend
A starting list of a number of factors that combined to deliver sustained higher wholesale electricity prices in the Queensland region across the weekend of Saturday 12th January and Sunday 13th January 2013.
NEM-wide demand races past 31,500MW today
A record of the highest NEM-wide demand so far during summer 2012-13. A useful reference, for all of those who entered our “Best Demand Forecaster in the NEM” competition this time, and for those who sat on the sidelines.
How extraordinary have Queensland’s recent electricity pricing patterns been?
After watching electricity spot prices in Queensland remain stubbornly high over the weekend, we invested some time today to assess the extent to which these price patterns had ever been seen before – in the 15 years of NEM history.
Demand (and price) remain stubbornly high in Queensland over the weekend
An extra-ordinary weekend in Queensland, where the mercury stays up and so does electricity demand and (as a result, plus with some help from other factors) so does price.
NEM-Wide demand peaked above 31,000MW on Friday
A record of a hot day that drove NEM-Wide demand to the highest level it has achieved (thus far) this summer. See this in context of historical maximum levels.