AER report examines the ‘most tumultuous’ months in the history of Australia’s energy markets
June and July were the most tumultuous months in the history of Australia’s energy markets.
The AER’s Wholesale markets quarterly - Q3 2022 looks at what followed in the wholesale gas and electricity markets from July to September.
Gas and electricity prices halved in August from record levels in July, but prices remained high compared to previous years.
Gas prices averaged around $26 per GJ throughout the quarter while electricity prices were the second highest on record and double what they were the same time last year, ranging from $210 per MWh in Tasmania to $257 per MWh in South Australia.
Surplus local gas supply helped to de-link domestic gas prices from soaring international gas prices and fill southern storage.
On the electricity side, several factors contributed to lower prices:
- lower demand
- increased renewable generation
- fewer baseload outages
- an easing of fuel supply constraints
- lower gas prices.
High international energy prices will continue to put pressure on domestic prices, and forward markets continue to indicate high domestic gas and electricity wholesale prices will continue into 2023 and 2024.
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