VWA (Volume-Weighted Average) Revenues

Volume-Weighted Average Revenues (VWA Revenues) are a widely used concept in analysis of electricity generator revenues:

VWA Revenues
… are synonymous with LWA Revenues; BUT
… it is important to understand that they are not quite the same as Volume-Weighted Average Prices (VWA Prices).

The VWA Revenue is determined over a period of time is the ratio of Spot Revenue for Energy for a generator (or a group of generators) divided by the Production (typically ‘As Generated’, though this might vary – so be wary) over the same period.

VWA Revenue = Spot Revenue (Date1 to Date 2) / Production (Date1 to Date2).

… where in the NEM the Spot Revenue is calculated:

Spot Revenue = Sum, for every Trading Period (Production Sent-Out (i.e. MWh) x MLF x Trading Price in Region (i.e. $/MWh))

It is useful for comparing the different characteristics of plant – for instance a plant operating 24×7 (which might be termed ‘baseload’) or a plant operating only a times when prices are highest (known as a ‘peaking plant’).

… however note that the VWA Price might be a better metric to compare between the performance of different assets in certain circumstances because it omits consideration of the MLF (so enables a clearer comparison of the ‘price harvest’ performance of various assets).