On 25 May 2021, the wholesale electricity price in Queensland was between $5,100 and $15,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) on five occasions during the 4:30 pm to 6.30 pm trading intervals. The wholesale price in New South Wales reached $6,800/MWh once, for the 5:30 pm trading interval.
The high prices in Queensland followed an incident at Callide C Power Station in Queensland on 25 May 2021.
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) will publish reports into these high prices by late July 2021. These reports are designed to examine market events and circumstances that contributed to wholesale market price outcomes and are not an indicator of potential compliance issues or enforcement action.
The AER monitors and reports on wholesale electricity markets and is required to report on events that result in wholesale electricity spot prices exceeding $5,000/MWh and average frequency control ancillary service (FCAS) prices above $5,000/MW over consecutive trading intervals.
Most 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.
You can subscribe to receive notifications of these reports; under Type select Performance report.