Analysis

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Is minimum demand causing a major headache?

AEMO’s Wholesale Electricity Market ESOO offers insight into the future of the WEM and its potential challenges. It presents a confident picture of generation meeting demand over the forecast period, while on the flipside it singles out the massive uptake of rooftop solar PV for causing a significant near-term issue.

BY Graham Pearson Jun 24 2021

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Will network operator batteries hurt competition?

Australia is grappling with the rapid change in how and when electricity is generated and consumed. In Western Australia, recent changes to the Electricity Networks Access Code allow expansion of the role of the network operator. Oakley Greenwood has considered what the amendments mean for competition in the Wholesale Electricity Market.

BY Graham Pearson May 13 2021

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New Energy Jobs Plan: Bold or brash?

The political landscape in WA offers different visions for the best way to obtain a reliable, secure and cost-effective energy system. The WA Liberal’s recently unveiled “New Energy Jobs plan” is head turning for the numbers included and the aggressive move towards renewables. We look at the policy and what it might mean for key stakeholders.

BY Graham Pearson Feb 18 2021

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Predicting the future: How four scenarios will shape the WEM

Power systems are often unplanned and organic, changing over time to reflect new technologies, population movements, and economic growth. The SWIS in Western Australia is no different.

BY Graham Pearson Aug 13 2020

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New Access Code: What does it mean for competition?

Western Australia’s Electricity Networks Access Code is set to undergo a major shake-up.

BY Graham Pearson Jul 09 2020

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Western Australia’s dramatically changing electricity consumption

Recent data from the AEMO shows that demand and consumption in Western Australia has changed markedly from last year.

BY Carol Tran Jul 02 2020

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Setting the mark: Why price limits should change in WA

Alongside the lofty energy reforms being rolled out in Western Australia the annual review of the energy price limits has quietly captured the attention of market participants and industry watchers.

BY Graham Pearson May 28 2020

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DER: Does WA’s roadmap set the right direction?

Last week Western Australia released a Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap that seeks to set out a framework to allow the further development and integration of DER into the South West Interconnected System over the next five years.

BY Graham Pearson Apr 09 2020

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Renewable Hydrogen Strategy launches

On 19 July, the Western Australian Government released its Renewable Hydrogen Strategy, which aims to position the state as a leader in the global renewable hydrogen industry.

BY Scott Davis Aug 01 2019

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System security: Grappling with the DER dilemma

The Australian Energy Market Operator has flagged the need to update technologies within Western Australia’s power grid as well as make market changes on the back of the rapid uptake of solar PV and distributed energy resources generally.

BY Scott Davis May 30 2019

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WA electricity reform and DER: What are the customer implications?

Distributed Energy Resources have the potential to offer customers lower cost, reliable and efficient energy. However, while there has been a growing focus on DER benefits, they also come with some challenges.

BY Scott Davis Apr 04 2019

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WA Electricity Reform: Have we got DER covered?

Uncertainty around energy policy has had an impact on all levels of the nation’s electricity supply systems. It has led to increased speculation about future reliability, electricity shortages, as well as assertions of power quality problems from the influx of renewables, even debate about the potential for blackouts as the energy mix continues to change.

BY Scott Davis Mar 28 2019

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Watching the west: WA’s microgrid inquiry

Western Australia’s energy system, like many others around the world, is expected to look very different In future. The changes are not just a result of energy policy, but by broader trends in technology and digitisation, as well as consumer desire for security and lower costs of living.

BY Scott Davis Mar 04 2019

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WA to introduce a constrained access electricity market

An important and interesting reform is in its initial design stage in the Western Australia's Wholesale Electricity Market.

BY Ben Skinner Apr 13 2018

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WA: 2017 ESOO report highlights

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) recently published the 2017 Electricity Statement of Opportunities for the Wholesale Electricity Market. We take a look at the report, which provide projections on Western Australia’s supply-demand balance.

BY Duncan MacKinnon Jul 14 2017

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The Finkel Review: What about WA?

While the Finkel Review was focused on the future security of the NEM it did suggest that the West Australian government consider adopting the Panel’s recommendations. So what are some of the implications if applied to WA’s South West Interconnected System?

BY Duncan MacKinnon Jul 07 2017

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Competition and sunshine: A WA update

Energy has been front and centre in Western Australia. In particular, the new West Australian Labor Government has signaled its interest in increasing competition in its retail electricity market by making it fully contestable. At present small customers, such as households, have to buy their power from state-owned Synergy. West Australian consumers continue to be active in the solar space, with household solar growth rates in Western Australia the fastest growing across Australia in recent months.

BY Panos Priftakis May 25 2017

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Going off-grid, goes West

Farmers in Western Australia’s West River in the Ravensthorpe shire (around 500 km south east of Perth) are participating in a trial which will take six households off-grid, in order to assess this approach for reliability for those living at the edge of grid. The bill for a solar and battery system with backup diesel capable of providing sufficient power during the trial is estimated to total $150,000 per household.[ii] With even a basic solar and battery set up coming in at around $10,000 (solar choice 1.5kW solar panel $2,311, LG Chem 6.4kW battery $7,615[iii]) it’s what makes going off the grid so expensive and the question, why are some remote residents still prepared to do so?

BY Isobel Graham Sep 15 2016

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Reforms to Reserve Capacity Mechanism: WA seeks to get the balance right

The WA Government has announced reforms to its Reserve Capacity Mechanism, aimed at dealing with excess capacity in the South West Interconnected System and reducing costs to consumers. We take a look at the reforms and the expected outcomes.

BY AEC Apr 14 2016