First shot at trying to understand what went on, leading to the SA blackout of Wednesday 28th September
First attempt to try to piece together events leading up to the blackout in South Australia on Wed 28th September 2016
Headline Events
Some key events in the NEM that carried long-term implications
AEMO announces “Black System” across South Australia at 16:24 on Wednesday 28th September
Power’s out across South Australia on the afternoon of Wednesday 28th September
Sun Metals submits rule change request to AEMC – for optional Five Minute Settlement
On 4th December 2015, Sun Metals (a zinc smelter in northern Queensland, and also one of our initial deSide® clients) submitted this rule change request to the AEMC: In the 10-page proposed change, my sense is that the key points…
How the drought of 2007 affected specific power stations
I have been asked a couple of times recently, by new entrants to the NEM, about the impact of the drought in 2007 on generation levels around the NEM. This prompted me to look at what we had posted previously…
Earth Hour 2010 – Impact on Australia’s Electricity Market
Now in its 4th year – Earth Hour has continued to spread across the globe, but participation in Australia appears to have decreased from previous years. In this article we compare reported electricity savings during the past 4 Earth Hour events, and look at the effects of Earth Hour on the NEM in 2010.
How helpful was NEMMCOs PASA process in predicting the demand spike on 29 January 2009 (part2)
Some further analysis of the MT PASA and ST PASA forecasts for other regions of the NEM (SA, TAS, NSW and QLD) for the day of 29th January 2009 – when a new record NEM-wide demand was established.
How helpful was NEMMCOs PASA process in predicting the demand spike on 29 January 2009 (part1)?
A quick look at how useful NEMMCO’s PASA forecasts were, prior to the record levels of demand seen across the NEM on Thursday 29th January 2009
Should last summer’s peak NEM-Wide demand have surprised us so much?
We saw a massive new peak for NEM-Wide demand set on 29th January 2009, which surprised many (including us).
We return to that data and, by comparing with the previous 10 summers, see whether it should have been entirely unexpected.
Earth Hour 2009 – Impact on Australia’s National Electricity Market
The third Earth Hour event has yet again spurred fierce debate. As commentators come to accept the fact that Earth Hour is a largely symbolic occasion, the question is raised – what needs to happen next to provide a real, tangible, long term benefit in terms of greenhouse gas reductions?
Earth Hour 2008 – Impact on Australia’s National Electricity Market
In 2008 Earth Hour spread across Australia (and the globe), inciting further participation and debate. In this article we compare reported energy usage statistics with demand data from regions across the NEM, and consider the issues raised by other Earth Hour commentators.
Earth Hour 2007 – Impact on Australia’s National Electricity Market
Since the first event in Sydney, 2007, Earth Hour has been held at the same time on two successive years, with an increasing number of locations around the world participating – and still continues to galvanise commentary by supporters and detractors alike. Following the conclusion of Earth Hour 2009, out of interest we thought we’d have a closer look at what happened in Australia’s National Electricity Market over the period of Earth Hour 2007.
NEMMCO Market Event Report – 31 October 2008
A Market Event Report has been published on the NEMMCO website discussing the market outcomes of the high energy prices in the New South Wales and Queensland regions on Friday, 31 October 2008.
“Happy Birthday” to the NEM (13th December 1998 – 12th December 2008)
This is just a short note to reflect on the fact that the NEM will be 10 years old tomorrow. All together now, “Happy Birthday to you…”
News Article Highlighting Opportunity for Demand Response
It was with interest that we stumbled on this article in the Herald newspaper talking about what happened on the 31st October in NSW
High Prices and Low Reserves in NSW
An illuminating view of the NEM during the high NSW prices on 31st October 2008, illustrated with screenshots and a dynamic video from the new NEM-Watch v8.
Links to various other materials relating to the heat wave
The heatwave, and its effects on the NEM, certainly proved newsworthy. In this article, we provide a listing of the news coverage provided to the heatwave.
Links to external reports relating to the blackout
Following from the blackout, several government bodies, and industry organisations completed reviews of the events leading up to the blackout. For completeness, these reports (at least, those we are aware of) have been listed in this article.
Our review of the heat wave in South Australia
With demand soaring, and interconnectors constrained, generators in South Australia and Victoria took what opportunity they had to force the price high. So successful were the South Australian generators that the Cumulative Price Threshold was reached in South Australia and, under NEM Rules, an Administered Price Cap was applied for a period of time.
Second review of the blackout on Tuesday, 16th January 2007
Our second review was prepared in conjunction with the release of NEM-Watch version 7 (including the new NEM-Watch portal at www.NEM-Watch.info) in March 2007.
Our initial review of the blackout on Tuesday, 16th January 2007
Our first review, linked here, was prepared the night of the blackout itself, and provides a chronological history of events, as seen through the NEM-Watch™ application.