Market report for Friday, 28 September: Spikes push Qld average price up 4pc with Vic and SA rising 4-7pc, Tas steady and NSW down 1pc to $43.83-$59.72/MWh range on firmer demand

Spikes in Queensland pushed its average price up 4 per cent while Victoria and South Australia rose 4-7 per cent, Tasmania remained steady and NSW fell nearly 1 per cent to an overall range of $43.83-$59.72/MWh. System-wide maximum demand was up 186MW (0.7 per cent) to 26,156MW, with rises in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

Top price of the day was the spike to $218.67/MWh in Queensland for the 30-minute trading interval ended 1230EST. Tasmania had the highest average price and South Australia the lowest. Temperature ranges in the NEM capitals were: Sydney 17-29 degrees (15-28 on Thursday); Melbourne 10-16 degrees (9-21); Adelaide 12-16 degrees (11-21); Brisbane 17-31 degrees (18-27); and Hobart 8-14 degrees (9-18).

Early finish for NSW outage: NEMMCO advised at 1439EST on Friday, 28 September that an outage of the Munmorah to Sydney West 330kV line in NSW, due for completion at 1700EST, was completed at 1425EST when constraint set N–MNSW_26 was revoked.

Vic outage withdrawn: NEMMCO advised a 1441EST on Friday, 28 September that an outage of the Dederang No. 2 220/330kV line in Victoria, planned for 1400EST to 1800EST, had been withdrawn.

Qld outage ends early: NEMMCO advised at 1355EST on Friday, 28 September that an outage of the Millmerran-Middle Ridge 9908 330kV line in Queensland, due for completion at 1700EST, was completed at 1320EST and constraint set Q–MIMR_9908 was revoked from this time.

Today in detail
• NSW: Average price $48.51/MWh, down nearly 1 per cent on the $48.83/MWh of Thursday, up 114 per cent on the $22.72/MWh of the comparable Friday last year; maximum price $76.85/MWh for the trading interval ended 1100EST. Average demand 8669MW, down 0.9 per cent on Thursday, up 1.2 per cent on a year ago; maximum demand 9731MW for the 1800EST interval, down 2.0 per cent on the 9927MW of Thursday.

Victoria: Average price $48.24/MWh, up 4 per cent on the $46.36/MWh of Thursday, up 97 per cent on the $24.47/MWh of the comparable Friday last year; maximum price $72.62/MWh for the trading interval ended 1100EST. Average demand 6100MW, up 2.0 per cent on Thursday, up 3.8 per cent on a year ago; maximum demand 6871MW for the 1900EST interval, up 3.8 per cent on the 6621MW of Thursday.

• South Australia: Average price $43.83/MWh, up 7 per cent on the $41.09/MWh of Thursday, up 59 per cent on the $27.50/MWh of the comparable Friday last year; maximum price $62.28/MWh for the trading interval ended 1100EST. Average demand 1300MW, down 1MW on Thursday, down 11.8 per cent on a year ago; maximum demand 1519MW for the 1930EST interval, up 2.5 per cent on the 1482MW of Thursday.

• Queensland: Average price $57.15/MWh, up 4 per cent on the spike-affected $54.72/MWh of Thursday, up 183 per cent on the $20.20/MWh of the comparable Friday last year; maximum price $218.67/MWh for the trading interval ended 1230EST. Average demand 5748MW, up 4MW on Thursday, up 2.6 per cent on a year ago; maximum demand 6587MW for the 1430EST interval, up 1.5 per cent on the 6487MW of Thursday.

• Tasmania: Average price $59.72/MWh, up 28 cents on the $59.44/MWh on Thursday, up 144 per cent on the $24.47/MWh of the comparable Friday last year; maximum price $72.65/MWh for the trading interval ended 2330EST. Average demand 1200MW, up 4,3 per cent on Thursday, up 1.8 per cent on a year ago; maximum demand 1377MW for the 0800EST interval, down 1MW on the 1378MW on Thursday.

Friday non-conformists:NEMMCO declared the following scheduled generating units non-conforming over rebids not received during the trading day of Friday, 28 September:
• The 420MW capacity Queensland generating unit Callide 3 for 12MW from 0420EST to 0510EST.

• The 350MW capacity Queensland generating unit Tarong 3 for -39MW from 1210EST to 1215EST.

• The 385MW capacity Queensland generating unit Swanbank E for 23MW from 1445EST to 1520EST.

• The 350MW capacity Queensland generating unit Callide B1 for -22MW from 1910EST to 1915EST.

• The 660MW capacity NSW generating unit Bayswater 4 for 26MW from 1915EST to 1940EST.

• The 360MW capacity Victorian generating unit Yallourn 1 for -17MW from 2045EST to 2120EST.

Generation picture:
In NSW, Bayswater 4 went offline in the 2100EST interval. Liddell 1 returned in the 0900EST interval. Liddell 4, Vales Point B5, Vales Point B6, Munmorah 4 and Eraring 2 remained idle all day.

In Victoria, Yallourn went offline in the 2300EST interval. Loy Yang A2 and Hazelwood 5 were off all day. The two West Kiewa units, the two Bairnsdale units, Eildon 1 and the two McKay units operated at various times during the day.

In South Australia, Torrens Island B2 returned in the 1400EST interval. Torrens Island A3 went off in the 1730EST interval. Ladbroke Grove 1, Ladbroke Grove 2, Torrens Island B4, Torrens Island A1, Torrens Island A2 and Torrens Island A4 were offline all day.

In Queensland, Collinsville 1 returned to the grid in the 2300EST interval and was followed by Collinsville 5 in the 2330EST interval. Barcaldine operated in the intervals between 1530-2200EST. Tarong 4, Tarong North, Callide 1, Gladstone 5 and Gladstone 6 were off the grid all day.

In Tasmania, Reece 1 came back online in the 0630EST interval. Tribute returned in the 0530EST interval. Mackintosh went off in the 2200EST interval. Bastyan returned in the 0000EST Saturday interval. Tungatinah, Poatina 220, Reece 2, and Trevallyn operated at various times during the day. Bell Bay 1, Bell Bay 2, the three Bell Bay Three units, John Butters, Woolnorth, Lake Echo, Repulse, Paloona, Cluny and Butler’s Gorge were offline all day.

Interconnector flows: The Victoria-South Australia Heywood interconnector averaged 219MW east, down 1.4 per cent on the average 222MW east on Thursday. Murraylink averaged 46.27MW east, down 8.7 per cent on the average 50.68MW east on Thursday. Vic-Snowy exports averaged 16MW, down 93.2 per cent on average exports of 236MW on Thursday. Snowy-NSW exports averaged 526MW, down 33.5 per cent on average exports of 791MW on Thursday. QNI averaged 22.86MW south, compared to an average 35.97MW north on Thursday. Terranora averaged 21.44MW south, compared to an average 7.54MW north on Thursday. Basslink averaged 245MW south, up 7.5 per cent on the average 228MW south on Thursday.

Temperature ranges: The temperature ranges today were: Sydney 17-29 degrees, Melbourne 10-16, Adelaide 12-16, Brisbane 17-31 and Hobart 8-14.