Off-Target #2 = Unit failed to start – Braemar A3 on 29th August 2018
One example of a thermal unit failing to start. We will endeavour to explore how often this happens as part of the Generator Report Card 2018.
Seasonal Record of Events in the Market
Collections of events that we see happening in the NEM, categorised in terms of the seasons in which they occur.
Off-Target #1 = Unit trip – Mt Piper Unit 2 on 24th October 2018
Highlighting one example of a unit trip. We expect we will find many in the process of compiling our Generator Report Card 2018 – the bigger question being whether the incidence is increasing (and, if so, to what extent).
NEM Summer Outlook 2018/19 – what is AEMO saying?
Following on from Paul’s article on Queensland, this post examines the summer outlook for the other mainland NEM regions, drawing from some key AEMO publications and datasources, namely: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) published in August this year AEMO’s Summer…
High temperatures (and high demand) forecast for QLD this Friday
A quick look at AEMO’s current forecasts for Friday (prompted by a few conversations externally)…
Dispatch Price spikes above $12,000/MWh in VIC and SA today
Two quick snapshots of a high priced day in Victoria and South Australia – with the price jumping above $12,000/MWh at 15:50
Central Queensland to Southern Queensland flows constrained today
A quick look at the situation today, where generation in central and northern Queensland was constrained down in the middle of the day, driving prices higher.
A brief look at the outlook for QLD region this summer
A quick first look at the way the AEMO is currently seeing the supply/demand balance for the Queensland region through summer and Q1 2019 – with the “out of left field” possibility of industrial action making it even more interesting.
Hot weather in Queensland to drive Electricity Demand high this week (and warning of LOR2 Low Reserve Condition)
Temperature forecasts are for hot weather in Queensland early this week – which means AEMO is forecasting high demand in the QLD region. With this, they are alerting on a forecast LOR2 Low Reserve Condition warning. We take a look…
Scheduled Demand in South Australia drops to 536MW, an all-time* record minimum in the afternoon of Sunday 21st October 2018
Based on a tip from a savvy WattClarity reader, we have a quick look at what turned out to be the lowest-ever (normal) instance of Scheduled Demand on a dispatch target basis in the South Australian region of the NEM.
A case study in Active Management at a Semi-Scheduled plant – Tuesday 24th July 2018 at Lake Bonney 2 Wind Farm
A detailed look at two specific trading periods in the day (Tuesday 24th July 2018) that saw negative dispatch prices occur at the start of trading periods – hence provided a case study for how existing Semi-Scheduled plant respond (especially in combination with transmission constraints and the Semi-Dispatch Cap).
Further analysis of the (very rare) double-islanding events of Saturday 25th August 2018
The multi-region islanding event on Saturday 25th August was a very rare event – perhaps the only one’s that occurred in the history of the NEM. It has generated plenty of questions – and driven our analysis further. We share some more observations here, and keenly await the draft AEMO report.
Taking a look at Saturday’s Islanding Event through 4 second SCADA data
Following on from Saturday’s islanding event, we use our current interest in AEMO’s 4-second SCADA data to prove a little more…
Both QLD and SA islanded from the rest of the NEM on Saturday 25th August 2018
Both the QNI and the Heywood interconnectors tripped around the same time on Saturday 25th August 2018 (not apparent at this time which one was first, and why), leading to both QLD and SA regions being separately islanded from the rest of the mainland NEM. This also contributed to over 1,000MW of load shedding in NSW and VIC, and presumably some frequency excursions in QLD and SA.
Confirmation of yesterday’s supposition that some wind farms are blinking in the face of negative prices
A brief follow on from yesterday’s post, with the advantage of being able to review yesterday’s bids (and rebids) today.
The “Wind Correlation Penalty” bites in South Australia, and some wind farmers appear to blink
The past week, with wind farm output blowing gangbusters in South Australia (coupled with low demand and System Strength requirements) we seen the “Wind Correlation Penalty” start to bite, with some reactions also beginning to show.
How do New Entrant Retailers manage wholesale market risk?
Guest author, Drew Donnelly at Compliance Quarter, uses the review of hedge practices in the wholesale market included in the recent ACCC report as an opportunity to reflect on what approaches they have seen in their work with new entrant retailers
High SA Prices on Monday 9 July–Business as Usual?
One of our guest authors, Allan O’Neil, takes a closer look at what happened in the South Australian region of the NEM on Monday 9th July 2018
Monday 9th July sees yo-yo prices in South Australia
Some brief analysis of today’s price volatility seen in the South Australian region of the NEM
Reviewing the pattern of spot prices for Q2 2018 suggests that we’re far from out of the woods, yet
Returning to the theme of analysis of Q2 prices (completed in 2017 and 2016 due to Q2 historically being an uneventful period) we see that prices have backed off from the “off the charts” level of 2017, but are still much higher in all regions than most other regions. In some cases results are second worst in 20 years.
Recapping a shaky week for the supply-demand balance in the NSW region last week (Mon 4th June to Fri 8th June 2018)
The start of some analysis that helps to identify the variety of factors that combined to give a shaky balance between supply and demand in NSW last week.