July 2018

25 Jul Dramatic decline in electricity prices predicted as a result of the NEG

Posted at 16:18h in Electricity, Energy Markets, News by Alex Driscoll

The AFR published an article last night which refers to the final design of the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) which was provided to the state and territory leaders on Monday. Within the article is a graph containing forecast NEM wholesale prices (real 2018 $/MWh) from FY18 to FY30, as seen below. The forecast comes from Acil Allen Consulting. Unfortunately, the graph is all that is provided and is therefore impossible for the market to understand what the assumptions are behind the modelling. When releasing forecasts that show dramatic changes in energy prices it should be explained in detail so that stakeholders can understand the key drivers behind the decline. By...

25 Jul Electricity cost forecasting – is it really that simple?

Posted at 15:47h in Electricity, Energy Markets, News by Alex Driscoll

As the Australian generation fleet transition to lower carbon emissions we are seeing the regulatory framework catching up. The regulatory framework is not the only aspect which is changing. We are experiencing an increasing amount of direct power purchase agreements being written between large users and renewable developers. Economic models are also struggling to catch up. Almost every month a new forecast is published showing that if we just implement the latest proposed change to the market, we will see a return to the good old days of lower electricity prices. Part of this fallacy comes from outdated forecasting models which still look at cost of production as the main input...

24 Jul Have you exceeded your baseline under the Safeguard Mechanism?

Posted at 12:46h in Electricity, Energy Markets, News by Alex Driscoll

Following the close of the financial year 2018 NGER reporting period, responsible entities will need to determine if they have exceeded their baseline under the Safeguard Mechanism. The safeguard applies to around 140 large businesses that have facilities with direct emissions of more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalence (t CO2-e) per year. This covers around half of Australia's emissions. The entity with operational control of a facility will be responsible for meeting safeguard requirements, including that the facility must keep net emissions at or below baseline emissions levels. There are various methods for a facility to meet its safeguard requirement depending on its emissions, how it operated during the financial...

17 Jul AEMO Release Inaugural System Plan

Posted at 13:06h in Energy Markets, News by Alex Driscoll

This morning AEMO released their inaugural Integrated System Plan (ISP). The plan is an evaluation of the likely changes that will be occurring over the next 20 years across the NEM. The ISP builds on the work of AEMO’s annual National Transmission Network Development Plan, and has been developed in response to the COAG Energy Council’s decision in 2017 to adopt the recommendations made in the Independent Review into the Future Security of the National Electricity Market, specifically pertaining to the need for a strategic national plan. AEMO have used probabilistic scenario based analysis and system optimisation to project the reliability and security needs of the power system while simultaneously...

11 Jul ACCC’s recommendations aim to restore electricity affordability

Posted at 18:07h in Energy Markets, News by Alex Driscoll

Malcolm Turnbull was in Brisbane today promoting “lower energy prices” on the back of the public release of the ACCC’s “Restoring electricity affordability and Australia’s competitive advantage”. The 398 page report is extensive and contains 56 recommendations across the spectrum of the energy market. Edge highlights a couple of key recommendations below. Recommendation 1 The NEL should be amended to prevent any acquisition or other arrangement (other than investment in new capacity) that would result in a market participant owning, or controlling dispatch of, more than 20 per cent of generation capacity in any NEM region or across the NEM as a whole. The provision should be designed to prevent market participants circumventing...

05 Jul STAFF PROFILE – Justin King

Posted at 09:26h in Edge Insights by Edge Admin

With a career spanning 20 years and experience across many different technologies, Justin brings an incredible depth of knowledge to our development team. He is passionate about accurate reporting and scalable solutions which are the cornerstones of our business. Justin’s experience in the energy industry means he knows what our clients need. By building systems and developing specialised reporting, he gives them time and space to focus on business growth. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? A boss once told me "Assumptions are the mother of all stuff ups." Name a place you have never been to and would like to visit. Why? One of my future goals is...

05 Jul Gas Market Update

Posted at 09:24h in Edge Insights, Gas, News by Edge Admin

Domestic gas prices on the east coast of Australia have been through a huge transitional period as a result of the introduction of the LNG export market from Curtis Island. Whilst there have been a broad range of changes, one of the key factors increasingly influencing price that domestic consumers pay is the price of oil. Domestic contracts are now being offered at oil linked pricing which effectively means that if the price of oil increases so will the price of your gas (and vice versa). For large gas producers this is nothing new as hedging commodity prices is part of their core business. For consumers however this may be...

05 Jul STATE OF THE ELECTRICITY MARKET – AUTUMN MARKET OVERVIEW

Posted at 09:23h in Edge Insights, Electricity, Energy Markets, News by Edge Admin

The electricity market was active throughout autumn and the transition into winter. Spot prices were largely stable as has been the case ever since the Queensland Government directed Stanwell Corporation to adopt strategies to lower wholesale prices and Snowy Hydro Corporation seem to be willing to draw down their dam levels to keep prices in New South Wales below $300.00/MWh for each trading period. Stable spot prices doesn’t mean that the market has been uneventful. In Queensland utility scale solar is expected to grow from only having Barcaldine Solar Farm (25 MW capacity) to more than 2,000 MW installed by the end of 2019. In November 2017 Kidston Solar Farm (50...

05 Jul Autism Queensland – providing specialist education for children with autism for over 50 years

Posted at 09:22h in Edge Insights by Edge Admin

Meet Oliver King! Oliver is one of our staff members Justin’s’ eldest 10-year-old son. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He is a very smart, intelligent and loving boy and is known as a High Functioning Autistic, which you may have heard of in the past called Asperger’s syndrome. Autism affects roughly 1 in 59 children and 1 in 37 boys. Children like Oliver find it hard to fit into the standard schooling system often requiring extra resources that are not always available. Luckily for Oliver, he has recently been accepted to attend the Autism Queensland School on a part time basis. Oliver will split half...

05 Jul Edge Live Supports Greater Flexibility Whilst Maintaining Security

Posted at 09:21h in Edge Insights by Edge Admin

Edge focuses on ensuring the information we hold about your business's energy costs and consumption is safe and secure. We also like to ensure that information is only provided to parties within your business, that are authorised to have access to that information. A challenge for Edge has been to maintain this security requirement through the use of Edge Live, whilst also ensuring it widely accessible by staff within your organisation as possible. We have recently added some features to Edge Live that can provide you comfort when it comes to providing the right people with access to the right information within your organisation. As an Edge Customer, you are provided your...