The AER has reported on recent power price spikes.

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released a detailed examination on the occasions when electricity prices soared beyond $5,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) within the National Electricity Market (NEM) during the final quarter of 2023. 

This period saw such price peaks five times - a notable decrease from the previous quarter's ten instances but mirroring the frequency observed during the same timeframe in 2022.

Diving into the data, the AER pinpointed a recurring theme across these episodes: reduced access to more affordably priced generation, primarily due to network outages or constraints aimed at safeguarding system security. 

South Australia felt the brunt of these limitations three times, notably on 9 November, when a planned network outage and a constraint for system security curtailed interconnector flows. 

Similarly, on 8 December, severe storms led to constrained flows to protect system security in the region.

Queensland experienced two high price events, with a particularly challenging period in the last week of December. 

As temperatures soared above 36 degrees, the state's reliance on imported cheaper generation from New South Wales was hampered by a constraint on the Bayswater to Liddell lines, essential for maintaining system security.

Contributing to these price spikes were also factors such as a diminished supply of low-priced capacity and strategic rebidding by market participants. 

These elements underscore the complexity of managing the NEM's supply-demand equilibrium and the critical role of network infrastructure in maintaining stable and reasonable prices.

The full report is accessible here,