Switching duck: electricity switches to remain subdued in the near future

In November 2021, switching levels plummeted in response to rising tariff prices and a lack of market choice. By January 2022, domestic switching reached its lowest level on record, falling 80% on January 2021. This ‘Chart of the week’ checks in with the options, if any, available to households wanting to switch.

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Commercial and market outlook

Zap, Crackle, Pop! SA’s shocking electric dance party on the 11th

Across the mainland states in the NEM, South Australia (SA) relies heavily on variable renewable energy (VRE) resources. SA is an excellent subject to test the premise “What if the wind doesn’t blow, and the sun doesn’t shine”? Negative spot prices persist in South Australia due to an abundant supply...

Commercial and market outlook

Polarisation of wholesale spot prices leads to opportunity for arbitrage services

Over the last five financial years, South Australia has seen a significant increase in price volatility, with substantial portions of time both negative and above $250/MWh, leading to increasing opportunities for storage systems to provide arbitrage services. A number of events initiated the reduction in wholesale energy prices between $50/MWh...

Commercial and market outlook

Two more retailers bite the dust

The announcement on Friday that QEnergy and Mojo Power will no longer provide retail services illustrates the battering Australian electricity retailers have faced over the last year. High hedging costs, especially for non-vertically integrated retailers, have seen smaller retailers hit the wall, such as Elysian Energy, Enova Energy, and Power...

Commercial and market outlook

It’s the Liddell things that matter

Australia’s oldest coal-fired power plant Liddell retired completely in the last week of April 2023 after 52 years. This giant of AGL, which had a total registered capacity of 2,000 MW, operationally acted as a 1600MW station and 1200MW after the closure of its third unit. Australia’s transition to clean...

Energy storage and flexibility

A look at AEMO pre-dispatch forecasts over the last year

The Energy Security Board (ESB), under the direction of the National Cabinet, is currently working on a number of changes that will impact how generators connect to and operate within the National Electricity Market (NEM). The Congestion Relief Market (CRM) model is one such change to how the NEM currently...

Energy storage and flexibility

Hydrogen hype: How cheap the hydrogen from electrolysis can be?

Hydrogen is considered a potential replacement for fossil fuels for energy generation, transport etc. Currently, 96% of hydrogen production originates from fossil fuels through steam reforming and coal gasifications. Only a small fraction (~4%) is produced via electrolysis. The high Capex of the electrolyser is usually referred to as the...

Home supply and services

“The more [retailers] we come across, the more problems we see”

Thirty-one retailers have gone bust since the start of 2021 in the UK. At least one of those entities has a subsidiary in the Australian market (having yet to acquire any customers, according to the most recent AER and ESC data). In this Chart of the week, we take a...

Energy storage and flexibility

Price spikes in Queensland: Is solar revenue affected?

In the last few months, we have seen a substantial number of high price intervals in Queensland. Increased Market Demand on 9 March and the simultaneous trip of Gladstone units 3 and 4 on 31 March spiked energy prices to $8,800/MWh and $15,100/MWh levels, respectively. These price spikes occurred between...