In our 2008 assessment of the Wholesale Electricity Market, the ERA noted that:
- New participants had entered the market, which was expected to result in an estimated fall in the share of generation capacity provided by Verve Energy from around 77 per cent in 2007/08, to 61 per cent by 2009/10 and 60 per cent in 2010/11.
- The market attracted strong interest from investors in new generation with 699 MW of new generation capacity in service and over 1,100 MW of additional independent generation under construction.
- The entry of new generation facilities operated by Market Participants other than Verve Energy introduced a broader range of participants scheduling bilateral quantities and participating in the short term energy market.
- Outcomes in the market indicated that, at least until the Varanus Island incident, prices had tended to decline and become less volatile in both the short term and balancing markets.
- Prices in the short term and balancing markets had provided useful signals to Market Participants, with prices responding to scarcity in the market.
Our discussion paper was published in June 2008 and we received 12 submissions from the public. Our report was delivered to the Minister for Energy and published on our website in December 2008.
