Australia’s wholesale electricity and gas prices regained their growth momentum in the June quarter after a period of sharp decline.
However, they were much lower than the extreme highs recorded a year ago as production capacity improved.
According to the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) latest wholesale markets report (pdf), the average spot prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM) ranged from $65 (US$44)-$148 per megawatt hour in the June quarter, up from $64-$114 per megawatt hour in the previous three months.
The rises were due to higher demand caused by winter, the seasonal drop in solar generation, and a reduction in the capacity of coal-fired power plants in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW)….