The last week of June 2018 saw very low wind for much of the week and so prices rose on the back of increased reliance on more expensive gas generation, particularly Open Cycle Gas Turbine generation and on imports from Victoria. The average wholesale market price for the week was $115.89/MWh and the median was $111.58/MWh.

Figure 1 shows the box plot of the daily distribution of half-hour prices for the week. It can be seen […]

This week, the Southern Hemisphere Winter Solstice and low wind combined to push wholesale electricity prices up. Demand jumped up with a combination of cold, winter weather and low wind generation and the lack of wind generation encouraged more Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) generation, Victorian imports and even some diesel generation.

Figure 1 shows the time series plot of demand for the week with demand reaching more than 2200 MW four times during the early evenings […]

The second week of Winter in South Australia was quite chilly with several days reaching a daily maximum temperature of only 15C with typical minimum temperatures of around 9C. Despite the cold weather, electricity prices remained relatively low, by South Australian standards, with an average wholesale electricity price of $73.37/MWh (7.34 c/kWh). The driver of the lower prices was a relatively high and stable level of wind generation.

Figure 1, below, shows the distribution of half-hour pool […]

The first week of Winter in South Australia saw an increase in wholesale market electricity pool (spot) prices with very low wind on all but three days of the week. The week started with almost no wind generation but on Wednesday 6th June the wind came back displacing interconnector imports and a large amount of the gas generation, particularly the Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT). On Thursday 7th of June as the wind picked up […]

The last week of Autumn 2018, over the period from Sunday 27^th May to Saturday 2^nd June, has been very interesting for explaining South Australian electricity price action as it was a great example of how generation mix and price change with changes in wind generation. The week was characterised by modest demand throughout the week and a drop off in wind generation in the second half of the week. Overall, electricity prices were relatively […]

This last week ending Saturday 26^th May in South Australia, we saw Pelican Point re-joining the party, albeit only dropping in for a short “drink”.

Based on the data, it appears that the Pelican Point Power Station started up one of their units, after more than one month off, on 24^th May. This appears to have helped reduce the spot price and also led to electricity starting to be exported from SA to Victoria.

The chart below […]

The traditional approach to buying electricity has simply been to see it as any other purchase: businesses would try to secure a good price and good terms, but there was little or no thought given to energy as a strategic issue, despite its importance to many businesses. But the traditional approach to buying electricity almost guarantees locking in much higher electricity costs than can be achieved with the more modern, innovative and sophisticated methods we […]

This post is taken from Chapter 3 of my new book Power Profits – A Comprehensive 9-Step Framework For Reducing Electricity costs and Boosting Profits.

A framework provides structure, logic, and a sequential process that can be followed by anyone. This 9-Step Electricity Cost Reduction Framework has been used successfully in businesses in which I have had the responsibility for managing the operations, as well as in client businesses where I have assisted in helping […]

This is the last of an initial series of articles about the opportunities for end users in the mainland regions of the National Electricity Market to save costs by purchasing electricity at pool prices and adopting a Demand Response strategy to save more. The previous articles can be found through the following links for South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. This week we have a look at the opportunity in Victoria.

Table […]