Market report for Thursday, 11 October: Lightning in SE Qld corridor, $10,000 energy prices, negative QNI settlement residues cause $3000-plus spikes: negative QNI settlement residues cause $3000-plus spikes: Average prices up 2-20pc to $36.42-$131.84/MWh range on rising demand

With lightning activity continuing in a south-eastern Queensland corridor from Bulli Creek to Calvale, $10,000 overconstrained energy prices and negative settlement residues exceeding the QNI interconnector threshold, Queensland had spikes for the eighth day in a row with a top price exceeding $3000/MWh for the second successive day. Average prices rose 2-20 per cent to a range of $36.42-$131.84/MWh. System-wide maximum demand was up 805MW (3.1 per cent) with rises in all regions except Tasmania.

Thursday 11 October: Queensland price spiked past $3000/MWh as NSW-Qld flow dipped to $250MW

Canberra may be hit by bushfires, on same scale as 2003 inferno, every eight years by 2050, says CSIRO climate-change study

Canberra could be hit by catastrophic bushfires on the same scale as the 2003 inferno every eight years by 2050, according to a new study on the impacts of climate change, reported The Canberra Times (27/9/2007, p.3). Dramatic predictions: The number of days of extreme fire danger each year could increase by 65 per cent by 2020 and up to 300 per cent by 2050. The dramatic predictions were made in a report prepared for the Climate Institute by the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. The Australian Conservation Foundation described the report as a wake-up call on global warming. A new bushfire strategic management plan was being developed and updated with information about the increased risks. “Climate projections indicate very extreme and catastrophic fire danger levels may become much more common,” the report said. “In Canberra, if the rate of global warming is low, the number of extreme days increases around 8-10 per cent by 2020, and 17-25 per cent by 2050. If the rate of global warming is high, the number of extreme days rises 25-42 per cent by 2020 and 137-221 per cent, around double to triple.”

Destruction in 2003: The report said a catastrophic rating was comparable to the weather when the firestorm engulfed parts of Canberra on January 18, 2003, killing four people and destroying almost 500 homes. For example, the recent increase at Amberley in Queensland was eight times that projected by the most severe warming scenarios by 2020 while in Canberra and Melbourne it has been twice as large. The report considered the scenario of low global warming, with a temperature rise of 0.7 degrees, and high global warming producing a 2.9 degree rise.

Bad news for Canberra: “Climate projections indicate very extreme and catastrophic fire danger levels may become much more common,” it said. Very extreme days occur now every two to 11 years but would occur twice as often by 2020. “By 2050, high global warming scenarios indicated a four to five fold increase in frequency of very extreme fire weather across much of southern and eastern Australia,” it said. “By 2050, Canberra may experience catastrophic fire weather every eight to 17 years.”

Three back up generators deployed to Denmark and Walpole to cope with new load from Western Australia nickel plant at Ravensthorpe, from June 2007: $14 million spent over 5 years

Fran Logan, Western Australia Minister for Energy, and ALP Member for Cockburn told Parliament on 14 August 2007 that three generators were deployed to Ravensthorpe to provide support to the local electricity network from June 2007.

Bushfire sizzler season: Queensland heat-spike blackout on Monday 24 September: $10,000 price

For the NEM week to 29 September 2007, the top price of the week was the $1710.58/MWh spike in Queensland for the 30-minute trading interval ended 1000EST Monday. Queensland had the highest average price for the week and South Australia the lowest.

Cost of storm damage that swept Hunter Valley and Central Coast likely to hit $1.5 billion

The cost of the damage caused by the devastating storms that swept through the Hunter Valley and Central Coast in June is likely to hit $1.5 billion in terms of insurance payouts reported The Sydney Morning Herald (25/8/2007, p. 6).

Bring on the summer storms: Minister flexes muscle of over 2,000 Energex emergency workers; 1,600 trucks; new Ergon control centres

Queensland Minister for Mines and Energy G. J. Wilson speaking on 5 September 20007 gave the Queensland Legislative Assembly details of contingency plans to deal with any power outages during the coming storm season.

16 September: Blackouts in South Australia

Powerlines were cut and trees uprooted as strong winds swept South Australia on 16 September, reported The Advertiser (17/9/2007).

30 August: hottest August day on record in SA eclipses 96-year record, creates havoc with strong winds and emergency callouts

Soaring temperatures and strong winds caused chaos across South Australia on 30 August – the hottest August day on record, reported The Advertiser (31/8/2007, p. 9).

110 emergency callouts, 17 blackouts, crops destroyed: The winter heatwave pushed temperatures into the 30s at six locations, including Adelaide, the newspaper said. Strong winds, which averaged 50km/h in some areas, destroyed farmers’ hopes of a good crop this season. Adelaide’s top of 30.4C at 1.30pm was the hottest August maximum on record and eclipsed the previous maximum in 1911 of 29.1C. The hottest temperature in South Australia was 33.6C, at Cenduna, where winds averaged 54km/h. The strongest gust of 93km/h was recorded at Cleve on the Eyre Peninsula. In Adelaide, State Emergency Service volunteers were called to more than 110 jobs between 2pm and 7pm last night. Meanwhile, ETSA crews were called to 17 blackouts in the same period, most of which affected between 20 and 50 homes.

The Advertiser, 31/8/2007, p. 9