Marginal Loss Factors

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Patriots ‘Dynasty’ off to a rough start, as New England suffers loss to the MLFs…

    For many, the first of April is marked in calendars as a day for jokes and silly nuisances. For the few, specifically the energy industry, we have it pencilled in for the release of the upcoming year’s Marginal Loss Factors (MLFs). Over the last half-decade, movements in MLFs have received...

  • 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....

  • Power and gas networks

    The Quest of the Ring: Will the Sydney Ring of Power unlock commercial viability of renewables?

    With the development of Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), the need for transmission augmentation arises to unlock the transfer of energy from Renewable Energy Zones to major load centres. This may subsequently increase the commercial viability of renewable generators within the Renewable Energy Zones, for example, by reducing plants’ technical curtailments...

  • Power and gas networks

    Losses or gains? What do transmission upgrades mean for Marginal Loss Factors

    AEMO’s 2022 Integrated System Plan has listed a group of committed and anticipated network projects, including VNI Minor, QNI Minor, and the Western Renewables Link (WRL). Besides relaxing network constraints, improving reliability, and unlocking generation capacities, transmission upgrades may also impact the Marginal Loss Factor (MLF) around the planned area....

  • Commercial and market outlook

    Australian Chart of the week | Two roller coaster rides for the price of one? Preliminary vs final MLFs

    In recent years, movements in marginal loss factors (MLFs) have received significant attention in the National Electricity Market (NEM). Many renewable projects in remote areas have experienced material MLF reductions as more supply connects nearby. For example, the MLF for Broken Hill Solar Farm saw a whopping 50 ppt drop...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | A tale of two cities: batteries vs pumped hydro & solar vs wind

    On 1 April 2020 the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released the final Marginal Loss Factors - MLFs - for 2020-21. This week's Chart of the Week looks at how the MLFs have changed and which assets benefited the most. If we look closely at the MLF results over the past...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Marginal loss factors: are we going average or what?

    Marginal loss factors (MLFs) are now a hot topic in the NEM after being a relatively unexciting feature of the market. Previously, in the period 2000-2015, MLFs were reasonably predictable and variations year-on-year were minor. This reflected the stability of the generation sector. In contrast with today, new generators are...