NEM-wide demand breaks 32,000MW – highest so far this summer

Following Monday’s peak above 30,000MW we saw the demand rise higher today – above 31,000MW for the first time this summer.

The demand rose above 31,000MW early in the afternoon as shown in this snapshot from NEM-Watch at 14:30 – showing the NEM-wide demand up at 31,005MW and the Victorian region demand up at 9,018MW:

NEMWatch showing electricity demand above 31,000MW for the first time this summer

At the time, the AEMO’s forecast was that the demand would get close to 32,000MW later in the afternoon – also highlighted above.

At 15:35 we see another snapshot with pricing volatility in VIC and SA – with NEM-wide demand at 31,437MW and QLD demand also creeping up into the orange zone, about to top over the 8,000MW mark:

2016-01-13-at-15-35-NEMwatch-priceaction

Five minutes (15:40) later we see prices continue in SA and VIC and rise in the other 3 regions (though still orders of magnitude smaller) – note that QLD demand is now above 8,000MW (in what we expect will be reasonably common this summer):

2016-01-13-at-15-45-NEMWatch-pricesup

As does happen in the NEM (because of the design of the NEM, and the underlying physics) we see the price drop to the price floor in SA and VIC as generators bid low to ramp up volumes and hence get “a piece of the action” for the 16:00 trading period, coincident with spot-exposed demand response activating to minimise its exposure (see prior guest article about the 5/30 issue):

2016-01-13-at-16-00-NEMWatch-yoyo

Another snapshot showing demand 31,891MW as I am publishing…

2016-01-13-at-16-15-NEMWatch-31891MW

As I hit Publish, the demand is 32,052MW at 16:20.


I know this means that (already) some of our competition entrants are out of the money – with lots more of summer to come… (who will be the 7 lucky winners of the BBQs we’re giving away?)

About the Author

Paul McArdle
One of three founders of Global-Roam back in 2000, Paul has been CEO of the company since that time. As an author on WattClarity, Paul's focus has been to help make the electricity market more understandable.

2 Comments on "NEM-wide demand breaks 32,000MW – highest so far this summer"

  1. And if it stays there now then I’m a happy man with regards to your competition!

    But alas, it’s very early in the summer, and who knows what January and February still hold for us.

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