cotw

  • Power and gas networks

    Trouble Ahead? – What’s Next For TNUoS Charges?

    Some industry participants will be well versed in the Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charging regime, while others may not have had to engage with it before. Regardless of previous involvement, these charges are becoming increasingly important to understand for reasons we will discuss shortly.  In this week’s ‘Chart...

  • Home supply and services

    Domestic Suppliers Smart Meter Targets Updated For 2023 

    As part of its Mid-Year Review, the government is consulting on the Smart Meter Targets Framework for Year 3 (2024) and Year 4 (2025) of the revised smart meter rollout, setting out energy supplier annual smart meter installation targets on a trajectory to 100% coverage by the end of 2025....

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Navigating the Changing Landscape of Balancing Services Pricing Developments

    From an energy market perspective, 2022 was an especially interesting year as geopolitical events pushed Europe’s energy sector out of the status-quo and into uncertain and uncharted territory. While most of the attention remained focused on developments within the wholesale sphere, interesting developments arose within the balancing services space too....

  • Business supply and services

    Average gas and power prices for SMEs declined sharply in February

    From late 2021, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to secure a fixed energy contract would have seen steep increases in their energy bills, driven primarily by price volatility in the wholesale energy markets. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we discuss the changes in prices for SMEs up...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Taking charge: are they ready? Local authority charging infrastructure plans

    Electric vehicle (EV) uptake and public charge point installs have increased rapidly over the last few years, but to support the next wave of EV drivers, the public charging network needs to be improved. Government has outlined the leading role it expects from local authorities (LAs) in planning and delivering...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Prices soar in the west

    For the first time in the history of the Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), the balancing price reached the maximum price limit of $1,018/MWh between 5:30pm and 7:30pm on Tuesday, 29 November 2022. This came one month after the state-owned Muja C Unit 5 coal power station was closed....

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Out with the old, in with the new: T-4 Capacity Market clears at record price

    On 21 February, the T-4 Capacity Market auction for Delivery Year 2026-27 cleared at a record high price of £63.00/kW/year, procuring 43,000.955MW of capacity. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we explore the key takeaways from the auction.

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect…

    At demand levels averaging only ~200-700MW, FCAS markets are dwarfed by the ~20,000MW energy demand in the NEM. Nonetheless, with 8 different markets to participate in, the potential value that participating in FCAS can add to a participant's revenue should not be underestimated. In this Chart of the week, we...

  • Power and gas networks

    Push to meet renewables targets intensifies charging differences in GB

    Higher transmission costs for generators in Scotland have been a feature of the GB electricity market since the introduction of cost reflective pricing, but with the ambition to increase generation levels from offshore and onshore wind and meet Net Zero generation targets, this is likely to increase. In this week’s...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Delays to NEM connections and accurate forecasts

    AEMO is currently consulting on its methodology for reliability forecasting in the NEM, and among their proposed changes is an adjustment to the inclusion of projected new capacity. The existing assumptions are being examined due to two factors; Most new connections in the NEM assume that the time taken to...

  • Business supply and services

    Supplier of Last Resort true-ups confirmed by Ofgem

    Ofgem has published its decision documents confirming the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) true-up claims submitted by energy suppliers and the amounts it has agreed as part of their SoLR levy claim. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we review the SoLR true-up claims.

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Crying over spilled solar – how much can a battery help?

    A standalone battery earns its revenue not only from the arbitrage opportunity between day and night prices but also from participation in FCAS markets. This remains true when the battery is paired with a solar farm but can be complicated by constraints or trade-offs between FCAS participation and solar export....

  • Business supply and services

    Concentration and consolidation in the I&C gas market

    Throughout 2021 and well into 2022, energy suppliers operating in the business gas market were contending with a number of challenges, including reduction in energy demand from businesses as recovery from COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’ was ongoing and weathering volatile wholesale prices. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we discuss the...

  • Power and gas networks

    Queensland SuperGrid – Faster than a speeding bullet

    The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan (QEJP) sets an ambitious goal to deliver the Queensland SuperGrid. The SuperGrid is the future electricity system aiming to deliver consumers clean, reliable, and affordable power. As part of the plan, all publicly owned coal-fired power plants are intended to be retired by 2035....

  • Business supply and services

    The first month of the EGL against a backdrop of falling wholesale prices

    The end of January means the end of the first month of the Electricity Generator Levy (EGL). First announced as part of the Autumn 2022 budget, the EGL places a 45% tax on generation receipts above £75/MWh for non-Contracts for Difference (CfD) renewable and nuclear generators until March 2028. In...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Australia’s hydrogen success is tied to energy market policies

    According to South Australia’s Hydrogen Power Plant study, the global demand for hydrogen is projected to reach 650 megatons in 2050, with a potential export market of $300b per year. In this market, Australia is well placed for renewable hydrogen production with a considerable penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE)....

  • Home supply and services

    With wholesale prices falling, how many domestic customers are looking for better prices?

    In anticipation of supply contracts being offered below the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG), what might happen to customer switching rates? In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we look at how many domestic consumers might be ready to switch when suppliers increasingly offer contracts below the price cap supported level,...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    It’s finally happening; EV market hotter than ICE in 2022! Is the NEM ready?

    For the first time in 30 years, Australia’s highest-selling mid-size vehicle is not a Toyota Camry - running an internal combustion engine (ICE). As reported by 7 news, it has been replaced by the Tesla Model 3. This piece of information demonstrates that the EV uptake in Australia is achieving...

  • Business supply and services

    Help has arrived? A review of the government’s new Energy Bills Discount Scheme

    Over the past year, the combination of volatile wholesale energy prices, economic recession, and both political and market uncertainty, have necessitated government intervention in UK energy markets to offer protection and stability to both domestic and non-domestic UK energy consumers. In this week’s 'Chart of the week', we further review...

  • Low carbon generation

    Building up the road to the coast – can we deliver energy from Gippsland’s offshore wind?

    On 19 December 2022, the Federal Minister for Climate and Energy officially declared the area in Bass Strait off the Victorian Gippsland Coast suitable for offshore wind. The declared area covers approximately 15,000 square kilometres, from Lakes Entrance in the east to south of Wilsons Promontory in the west. Based...

  • Business supply and services

    Newly announced Energy Bills Discount Scheme scales back support for businesses’ energy bills 

    On Monday 9 January, the outcome from the long-anticipated review of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) for businesses was published. With the EBRS due to end on 31 March 2023, the government announced a new Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) as its one-year replacement to run from 1...

  • E-mobility and low carbon

    Energy crisis prompts peak prices at public charge points

    Last month, three charge point operators (CPOs) rolled out dynamic pricing across their public networks, offering drivers lower rates for charging at off-peak hours, and higher prices during times of peak demand. In this week's 'Chart of the Week', we’ll look at the three tariffs introduced and ask what it...

  • Regulation and policy

    Capacity Market prequalification

    On 29 November, National Grid ESO in its role as EMR Delivery Body published the prequalification registers for the 2023-24 (T-1) and 2026-27 (T-4) Capacity Market (CM) auctions. In this week's 'Chart of the Week', we explore some of the highlights from the initial registers.

  • Commercial and market outlook

    “There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza”: but maybe not as big as we think?…

    There has been talk for years about the potential introduction into the National Electricity Market of a “capacity market”, with significant pushback from the industry over the potential for a capacity market to prolong the life of coal and gas and slow decarbonisation of the grid. On Friday last week...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    What’s GoOing on with REGOs?

    The world of Green Certificates is a complex area of the energy sector and is set to become more-so as we head towards a period of major regulatory change in 2023. The EU’s Guarantee of Origins (GoOs) and GB’s equivalent Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGOs) are certificates proving the production...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” – Mario Andretti

    Over the past few months, there has been an avalanche of announcements related to the energy market. Victoria wants to be 65% renewable by 2030 and 95% by 2035, AGL is likely to retire Loy Yang A ten years earlier, Queensland has its Energy and Jobs Plan, and transmission investment...

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Casualties of the energy transition highway – market effects of Torrens Island B retirement

    As part of Australia’s energy transition, investments are being made to ensure sufficient network capacity to host renewable energy generation, share them between regions, and maintain power system security and reliability. One of the interconnectors being built is Project EnergyConnect (PEC), which will provide 800 MW of transfer capacity between...

  • Power and gas networks

    How much impact does the MSC have now?

    As prices in the market remain volatile, a recent drop in the price of wholesale gas has caused the Market Stabilisation Charge (MSC) to be triggered. The MSC was introduced in April 2022 as a short-term intervention in an unstable market, designed to protect suppliers that have hedged in advance...

  • Low carbon generation

    Lean, clean, electrolysing machines – how clean is Australia’s hydrogen future?

    The Clean Energy Regulator is currently exploring how to define ‘low-emissions’ hydrogen production through a Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme for Australia. Such a scheme could set a threshold level for carbon emissions from the production process in order to classify it as being ‘clean’, similar to schemes in operation...

  • Power and gas networks

    Sharing is Caring: UK Gas and Power Exports Volumes Versus 2021

    It is perhaps unsurprising to highlight that global energy markets have been exposed to significant volatility in recent years. Whether this be through the emergence of a global pandemic, dampening demand and drastically altering consumption behaviour thereafter, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine which resulted in significant changes to historic...