The AER monitors and reports on wholesale electricity markets and is required to report on significant price outcomes.
On 4 June 2022, the wholesale electricity 30-minute price in Tasmania was $7,918 per megawatt hour (MWh) for the 5.30 pm period and $5,320/MWh for the 6 pm period.
On 7 June 2022, the wholesale electricity 30-minute price in Queensland was $6,989/MWh for the 7.30 am period. On 8 June the price was $10,264/MWh at 6 pm, while on 9 June it was $6,664/MWh and $13,801/MWh for the 7 and 7.30 am periods, respectively.
The AER will publish a report into these high prices in mid-August 2022.
On 29 May 2022, the Australian Energy Market Commission published a rule-change altering the AER’s high price reporting obligations. Under the new rule, the AER is to develop guidelines for the monitoring and reporting on significant price outcomes. The AER will soon publish draft guidelines for public consultation. The final guidelines are to take effect by 29 September 2022, and until then the AER will report under a transitional rule.
Note that significant price 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.
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.