The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) monitors and reports on wholesale electricity markets. As part of this role, we report on events that result in wholesale electricity spot prices exceeding $5000 per megawatt hour (MWh).
Most end-customers are not directly exposed to wholesale electricity prices. Energy retailers are the main purchasers in the wholesale electricity market. Retailers bundle electricity with network services for sale to their residential, commercial and industrial customers. Generators and retailers can manage their exposure to price variations in the wholesale market by entering hedge contracts that lock in firm prices for the electricity they intend to produce or buy.
On Wednesday 7 February the spot price in Victoria and South Australia exceeded $5000/MWh at 4 pm, reaching $6847/MWh in Victoria and $8001/MWh in South Australia.
We expect to publish the report into these high prices within 40 business days, by 11 April 2018, on the AER’s website.
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In addition to reporting on these high price events, the AER will shortly be publishing reports on the following previous price events in the energy market:
| Market | Event date | Region | Expected publication date* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 18 January 2018 | Vic, SA | 20 March 2018 |
| Energy | 19 January 2018 | Vic, SA | 20 March 2018 |
* Under the Rules, the AER is required to publish energy market high price event reports within 40 business days of the end of the week in which the high price event occurred.