Five thought-provoking questions about what really happened in Queensland over summer 2013 – and the supplementary question about what it all means for the future.
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.
Some high temperatures in Victoria and South Australia drive demand higher and, because of transmission constraints, the IRPM in the Economic Island lower.
The price spiked yesterday (Monday 18th February) in South Australia and Victoria – here’s an overview of what happened.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The mercury in Sydney topped the 40 degree mark today, but demand did not climb to the heights it achieved when it set the record 2 summers ago.
A record of a higher demand day in Queensland today
An interesting day in the NEM today, with prices gyrating across a wide spectrum, and across all four mainland regions – on the back of higher demand in Victoria and South Australia due to temperatures there, and supported by transmission issues and other factors.
A brief look, during the day, of the effect that the Queensland heat wave is having on electricity demand within the state – and further across the NEM. It was a day of marked contrast in demand patterns in the north and the south.
Some quick observations about the price spikes observed yesterday on the back of high temperature-driven demand in Victoria.
A quick look at the demand levels on Saturday 25th driven by hot weather in VIC and SA. What would have happened had this been on a weekday?
High temperatures in Victoria and South Australia – but demand is still well down on the all-time records for those regions.
Some snapshots of the market this afternoon, focused on the QLD region as demand continues to climb on a hot day this summer.
The temperature reached 34 degrees in Brisbane today – with thunderstorms predicted to sweep through the south-east corner, bringing with them a cool change and localised disruptions to power supplies. In the following snapshot from NEM-Watch (at 14:05) we see…
A quick note about the tight supply/demand balance in NSW today – by virtue for high demand and constrained interconnector capability.
More extreme weather drives extreme demand and extreme prices – on Wednesday 2nd February.