Is the price right? A historical exploration into the NEM’s price cap
Dan dives into the history of the NEM’s market cap and explores how high-end prices contribute to regional settlement costs and cap payouts.
Detailed Analysis
Four days in the NEM in four minutes
Dan shares a short time-lapse video which demonstrates four days worth of activity in the NEM, highlighting the impact of network congestion in QLD and NSW.
How did Cyclone Alfred impact electricity demand?
By day-end on the Friday the 7th demand levels were down more than 40% in the Gold Coast. Other areas were also impacted.
Three headline observations, about the use of proxies for System Frequency in Frequency Control mechanisms
Various authors have shared articles about frequency, frequency control and Regulation FCAS in recent times (including 6 from Linton). Here's three things that jumped out to me in these pieces of analysis.
Is VRE forecastable? (Part 1 in what might be a series)
Over many years we've invested deeply in analysing the nuanced answer to the question 'Is VRE Forecastable?'. This article (which has almost been posted many times before) is triggered today by yet one more...
NEMDE nightmares – parallel pathways and clashing constraints
Prompted by a question by a client in a training session for a new ez2view user, guest author Allan O'Neil has written 2,940 words to explain the price outcome in one particular dispatch interval...
The state-of-charge for 2024: The highs and lows of the big battery boom
Following on from a similar review this time last year, Dan provides an updated look at the economics and performances within the NEM's big battery fleet, making use of our recently released GSD2024.
Indicators of solar farm performance with GSD2024
Seeking indications of possible performance at solar sites announced in the CIS tender of 2024, we inspect statistics of nearby solar farms using the GSD2024.
New FCAS resources dominate enabled levels in 2024
Using the latest GSD – GSD2024 – we take the opportunity to reflect on FCAS enablement and how enabled levels are changing between technology types.
Keeping up with the curtailment 2024: A little? too much? or much ado about nothing?
Drawing from our freshly released GSD2024, Dan provides some deeper insights into curtailment in the NEM, beyond the headline totals that were a topic of much online discussion earlier this week.
The GSD2024 (Generator Statistical Digest 2024) is released
It's Wednesday 5th February 2025, and we* are pleased to release the GSD2024 … following a focused effort across both teams over the period since the changeover from 2024 into 2025. Some details here,...
Interconnector intricacies: double and triple auto-clamping of pesky negative residues
Dan looks at some recent and peculiar auto-clamping behaviour of interconnectors, and walks through the market arrangements causing these occurrences.
A quick review of Queensland bidding over recent days (incl Wed 22nd Jan 2025)
Whilst we're waiting to see where 'Market Demand' lands for Friday 24th January 2025 (we might report that later), I was curious in terms of supply-side performance of units over the past 4 days...
Very fast FCAS, 2024 in review
A 2024 review of the trend in the very fast FCAS services captures enablements, availabilities and costs.
Mainland grid frequency: cat ears and golf
It was captured by a keen eyed reader, that the distribution of mainland grid frequency in recent times now exhibits cat ears.
Four NEM-related themes from COP29
After returning from COP29 in Baku, Dan shares his thoughts about energy transition challenges in international electricity markets, and how they intersect with what we're seeing in the NEM.
Down for the count: eight separate transmission tower failure incidents in less than five years
A map of where the eight separate transmission tower incidents have occurred over the past five years.
So long solo solar, and hi hybrids?
A summary of the key challenges facing standalone solar and wind farms over the past several years, along with discussion and thoughts about whether new rules surrounding hybrids systems will address these.
What the last twenty years of the ESOO tells us about blackout predictions
After skimming through the last twenty editions of the ESOO over the past couple of days, Dan shares some thoughts about what has and hasn't changed over the years.
A tale of two mega-projects: Project Energy Connect and Snowy 2.0 timelines (Part 2)
In the second half of this two-part case study we look at a timeline of the Snowy 2.0 project, and discuss the history of mega-projects in the NEM.