Worried about the cost of living and rising electricity bills?
See why AEMO's Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report released today shows PM's plan to keep coal power stations running "as long as they possibly can" guarantees more unreliable and expensive power🧵#auspol
1/11. AEMO says wholesale electricity prices in the NEM have risen 67% since the December Quarter and 141% since this time last year
The two most black coal dependent states, QLD and NSW are the worst hit, with $150 MWh electricity prices compared to the NEM average of $87 MWh
2/11 AEMO identifies "thermal generation outages" as one of main drivers of higher prices in QLD and NSW.
These regular breakdowns at coal power stations cause instantaneous loss of hundreds of megawatts of scheduled electricity, cutting supply and driving up prices.
3/11. Rate of coal outages/ breakdowns in NSW and QLD have roughly doubled since 2019.
4/11. See some recent examples of coal breakdowns in the NEM here.
5/11. AEMO also identifies black coal "repricing offers into higher bands" as a key driver of higher prices.
This means coal power stns are offering power to the market at increasingly higher prices, and as the dominant price setters in NSW and QLD, prices rise accordingly.
6/11. The price of coal offers was rising well before Ukraine crisis
Several Australian coal power stations are exposed to global prices, and often set the price
Coal dependence means we remain at mercy of global coal prices, esp. in QLD and NSW
Disastrous for energy security
7/11. Wholesale electricity price in QLD ($150 MWh) is more than double SA ($71 MWh).
Price difference between QLD and SA is because the QLD price is being set predominantly by expensive coal (in black), while SA price predominantly set by lower cost renewables and battery.
8/11 The other reason AEMO gives for price increases is rising demand due to unusually hot weather in QLD and Victoria.
Heatwaves are increasing and projected to keep increasing indefinitely because of climate change, yet another reason to shift to renewables asap.
9/11. Here is the ASX futures market showing ongoing price increases especially in NSW and QLD. Its actually higher now than shown in the graph with QLD around $200 MWh
10/11. This quarter had record renewable generation with both black and brown coal declining in output.
11/11. Batteries are pushing out coal for providing Frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) services to stabilise the grid.
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