Winter 2009
Miscellaneous articles on activity in the NEM during winter 2009.
First Spike in Demand this Winter As Temperatures Plunge
On Wednesday 10th June 2009, temperatures plunged across the NEM for the first time this winter, providing a long-awaited dump of snow to start the season, and driving electricity demand high.
November in the NEM (a review of 10 years of history)
One of 12 articles on the months past in the NEM – investigating the trends and significant events in the National Electricity Market during November.
October in the NEM (a review of 10 years of history)
One of 12 articles on the months past in the NEM – in which we examine the trends in price and demand across the NEM for the month of October.
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
“Earth Hour” was a concept developed by the WWF to promote awareness of the risks of climate change. It first ran just in Sydney in 2007, and generated considerable interest, on both sides of the fence – with both climate…
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.
Training about the NEM
Educational resources on Australia’s National Electricity Market.
Australian Power & Carbon Day, London (UK) Wenesday 4th February 2009
A seminar at which you will be able to gain a first-hand account of how the current heatwave in VIC and SA is impacting on the physical market, and what it means for the financial market.
Massive Demand, Huge Prices, Load Shedding and the Cumulative Price Threshold (and lessons learnt?)
Wednesday 28th January saw demand across the NEM jump to unprecedented levels, setting a new record of 34,843MW at 16:00 NEM time. On Thursday 29th January, we saw the demand increase still further, leading to prices that stayed high for much of the day (to the point where the Cumulative Price Threshold was reached in VIC and SA and price caps were imposed), and a relatively small amount of involuntary load shedding occurring in VIC and SA.
And the winner for summer 08-09 is…
We noted yesterday, in the midst of the excitement, that the previous NEM-wide demand record had been beaten, by virtue of the heatwave assaulting VIC and SA over the day. We spoke too soon, however, as demand continued to climb through the afternoon.
New record all-time NEM-wide demand (and for VIC and SA) today!
The day is not over yet, but we thought you would be interested in the attached snapshot highlighting the first of the occasions on the day when prices jumped to VOLL in SA and VIC as a result of searing temperatures stopping the tennis, and melting VIC and SA into new demand records for each region.
New record summer demand!
We watched with interest today as demand crept up in all mainland regions to the point where the NEM-Wide demand rose slightly above 33,000MW for the first time ever, during a summer period.
SA nears the Cumulative Price Threshold
On 19th January, high prices were sustained in SA for several hours, bringing the Cumulative Price within a whisker of the $150,000 threshold, at which prices would be capped.
Summer 2008-09 to date
Given that the holidays are now over (for most of us) and we’re returning back to “normal” life, we thought it would be a good time to provide a brief overview of what’s happened in terms of NEM-Wide demand, to date.
Summary of entries received for 2008-2009
An overview of the final range of estimates received for the peak demand guessing competition of summer 2008-2009.
Record summer demand in NSW yesterday!
NSW experienced a record summer demand on Thursday 15th January, driven by high temperatures across the state. The extreme weather experienced in NSW followed the extreme weather that swept across South Australia and Victoria only two days beforehand.
Analysis of the FCAS market in Victoria over the 23rd July, 2008
On the 23rd of July, 2008 one of the HWTS – LYPS 500kV Line was down for maintenance when a second one tripped, leaving only one line remaining. This caused NEMMCO to declare the failure of that remaining line the greatest single contingency in the NEM, causing them to buy large amounts of FCAS from generators.
A hot day in SA yesterday, and prices soared!
Just as had been forecast, Tuesday 13th January 2009 saw hot, dry weather roll in across South Australia, and then into Victoria. The high temperatures caused demand to climb, but not to the level at which NEMMCO had forecast demand to climb over the summer period. As a result we saw the price in SA jump to a level near VOLL at 13:40, and remain there until about 18:00 (i.e. more than 4 hours).