The AER monitors the performance of wholesale electricity and gas markets and publishes data from that monitoring in reports such as State of the Energy Market and the Wholesale Markets Quarterly. This page provides the key data series' for these markets in the form of charts and data tables that can be downloaded.
Highlights include:
Electricity Q1 2023
- Average quarterly prices were lower than the preceding quarter across most regions. Prices ranged from $64/MWh in Victoria to $114/MWh in Queensland.
- South Australia is the only region to have an increase in average quarterly prices increasing from $80/MWh to $99/MWh. The core driver for this increase was high priced events driven by hot weather.
- Regional heat waves drove days of high demand and price spikes in Queensland, NSW and South Australia. 30-minute prices exceeded $5,000/MWh twelve times.
- There were a record number of negative prices for Q1 in the NEM driven by strong solar output. This quarter saw over 2,600 instances of 30-minute prices below $0/MWh which is nearly double the same quarter last year. Most of these occurred in South Australia and Victoria.
- Generators in the NEM offered more capacity at low prices than in Q4 2022. Most of this increase was offered by coal generators but some was also offered by gas and solar plants. Generators offered more capacity priced below $0/MWh in NSW than in any quarter since at least 2013.
Demand
- South Australia (127 MW) and Victoria (2,637 MW) reached new record minimum demands for a Q1.
Generation
- Average generation in the NEM increased by 1,656 MW (8%) compared to the previous quarter.
- Black coal output increased by 1,276 MW (14%) compared to the previous quarter. Black coal set the price more often and at lower prices. In fact, most fuel types set lower prices than in Q4 2022.
- Output from large-scale solar increased by 189 MW (11%) to beat the previous record set in Q4 2022. This was an increase of 22% from the previous year, largely reflecting investment in solar generation.
Futures
- Base future prices have fallen from highs in mid-2022 but remain elevated.
Frequency controlled ancillary services (FCAS)
- Total FCAS costs for Q1 2023 were $38 million.
Gas Q1 2023
- Gas prices in downstream markets declined to average under $12/GJ for the first time since Q1 2022, driven by prices in March averaging $9.55/GJ across the markets.
- Upstream, the average price at Wallumbilla followed a similar trend, reducing to $9.28/GJ over March (day ahead exchange product).
- Traded and delivered quantities in the Gas Supply Hub remained remined high, setting a Q1 record with more than 10 PJ delivered over the quarter.
- Participation in the Day Ahead Auction exceeded continuous record levels set from Q2 2022, with capacity won reaching 38.5 PJ.
- 1 significant price variation event occurred on 1 January in the Sydney market.
