A key role of the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is the monitoring and enforcement of the national energy rules. When energy businesses fail to comply with the rules the AER can fine them or take them to court to seek a bigger penalty. The AER has just published a summary of its enforcement activity for …
Spot gas prices in the Victorian DTS system hit an eyewatering $58.44/GJ briefly on Friday. This is around 10 times the average price. What caused this price spike and what does it mean for gas users large and small? The price spike was due to a perfect storm of incidents and conditions. On the demand …
It’s only a few weeks since Project EnergyConnect, the South Australia-New South Wales interconnector, was finally confirmed to be going ahead. The $2,275m transmission line is the most expensive single project to be built since NEM start. But its record may not stand for long, as an even bigger project cleared its latest hurdle. Marinus …
After a mild summer contributed to the lowest Q1 prices in the NEM since 2012, concerns about price spikes are suddenly back on the agenda. All mainland regions of the NEM have seen significant price volatility in the last couple of months. Clearly a factor is the tightness of supply due to outages and reduced …
The Victorian government has announced the second round of its renewable energy reverse auctions. “VRET2” as it’s known is targeting at least 600MW (about 10 per cent of the state’s average demand) of new renewables. This is described as matching the government’s own energy consumption entailed in the services it provides, e.g. Victorian hospitals and …
The AFR’s annual Rich List was published late last week. Essential reading for the nosy amongst us who want to know how much resource magnates Gina (Reinhardt) or Twiggy (Forrest) is worth these days, it also tells a story of the industries in which Australians build their wealth. Many industries that are fundamental to the …
How many of Australia’s Rich List built their fortune on energy? Read More »
Dramatic events unfolded on Tuesday evening in Queensland, as a fire broke out in CS energy’s Callide C coal-fired power plant. Fortunately, no-one was injured as a result, although the unit was severely damaged. While the loss of a large coal unit is a major shock to the system it is the kind of situation …
Controversy has reigned over the Energy Security Board’s recent suggestion that the best way to ensure reliability in the NEM is via a physically-backed version of the existing Retailer Reliability Obligation (RRO). Many of the opponents of the proposal have sought to portray it as a subsidy to coal plants. Is this a fair description? …
Is the Energy Security Board proposing to introduce a coal subsidy? Read More »
AEMO recently updated its Electricity Statement of opportunities (ESOO) to reflect the agreement between Energy Australia and the Victorian Government to close the Yallourn brown coal power station in 2028. Unsurprisingly, the forecast is that Victoria will need investment in new dispatchable generation by the time of Yallourn’s closure to replace the 1,480 MW plant, …
