Arabic version: بطاريات المنازل في نيو ساوث ويلز تحقق مليوني دولار خلال قفزة الأسعار
According to ABC News, 30,000 Amber Electric customers with household batteries earned $2 million in about two hours during a sharp New South Wales electricity price spike on Monday, October 12. The average return was $69, while the highest earners made more than $500.
Wholesale prices surged from about $200 per megawatt hour to a peak of $23,107/MWh around 3:30pm AEDT, close to the market cap. Prices exceeded $5,000/MWh during 11 separate five-minute intervals as a spring heatwave lifted demand.
Sydney’s Observatory Hill reached 34.7 degrees, more than 12 degrees above the long-term monthly average. At the same time, four of NSW’s 12 coal-fired generating units were unavailable and two were operating at reduced capacity. A spokesperson for the Australian Energy Market Operator said demand rose by almost 2,000 megawatts within an hour, while about 2,400MW of coal capacity was unavailable across the state.
Transmission lines under maintenance also operated below capacity, limiting the delivery of renewable generation and storage to Sydney. GridScout said technical curtailment peaked at 2,800MW, with renewables and batteries in southern NSW most heavily affected while prices were above $10,000/MWh.
Wholesale market designer Dave Smith said household batteries responded rapidly to high prices by exporting power, then pulling back as prices dropped in the following five-minute interval. He described the resulting fluctuations as a “hog cycle”. Green Energy Markets chief executive Tristan Edis said the event highlighted pressure on an aging coal fleet and the need for additional transmission, wind generation and storage.
