Market report for week to Saturday, 29 September: Spikes push Qld average price up 9pc, with NSW, Vic SA and Qld down 5-9pc to $40.61-$54.90/MWh range on weaker demand

Spikes on three days with top prices between $153.12/MWh and $1710.58/MWh pushed up Queensland’s average price by 9 per cent while the spike-free regions of NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania fell 5-9 per cent to an overall range of $40.61-$54.90/MWh.

Energy market turnover slumps $42m (23.7pc) to $135m in week to 1 September, lowest total of financial year, AER analysis shows

Energy market turnover slumped $42 million (23.7 per cent) to $135 million to the lowest total of the 2007/08 financial year, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) said in its market analysis for the week from 26 August to 1 September.

Down $25 million on previous lowest total: The $135 million turnover was down $25 million on the previous lowest figure of $160 million in the week ending 18 August.

Ancillary services costs drop $128,000: The cost of ancillary services continued to fall, dropping $128,000 (19.5 per cent) to $527,000, compared to $655,000 the previous week. The $527,000 represented 0.4 per cent of the week’s total energy market turnover.

Average spot prices also down: The AER analysis also showed that spot prices averaged between $34/MWh in Queensland and $38/MWh in South Australia, compared to a range of $41/MWh in Queensland and $45/MWh in South Australia the previous week.

Turnover and ancillary service cost statistics: The following table shows weekly energy market turnover and ancillary services costs from the start of the 2007/08 financial year, with the weekly figures for June given for comparison purposes:

Week ending

Energy turnover

Ancillary services cost

Price forecasts more accurate:The AER analysis showed significant variations between actual prices and those forecast 4 and 12 hours ahead occurred in 62 (18.5 per cent) of the 336 30-minute trading intervals, down from 85 trading intervals the previous week.

Demand forecasts: Demand forecasts produced 4 and 12 hours ahead varied from actual by more than 5 per cent in about 20 per cent of all trading intervals across the market. These variations were most frequent in Tasmania and South Australia, occurring in about 33 per cent of trading interval

Reference: Australian Energy Regulator (AER) market analysis for week Sunday, 26 August to Saturday, 1 September. 5 September. Address: Level 11, The Tower, 360 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne Central. Melbourne. Vic. 3000. GPO Box 520, Melbourne. Vic. 3001. Phone: (03) 9290 1444. Fax: (03) 9290 1457.
http://www.aer.gov.au

Erisk Net, 12/9/2007