Highlights from the Australian market
- A fire has completely destroyed Tungatinah Power Station in Tasmania’s Central Highlands; Hydro Tasmania and TasNetworks remain confident the wider grid remains secure with the gas-fired Tamar Valley Power Station coming online to cover the shortfall.
- WA’s Economic Regulation Authority has fined state-owned Synergy $1.2 million after a trading software error let it inflate wholesale prices from its Kwinana battery, extracting an extra $850,000 and lifting overall wholesale costs by roughly $9.5 million over an eight-month period.
- AEMO and SA Power Networks ran their annual rooftop-solar “fire drill for the grid,” remotely curtailing tens of thousands of South Australian solar systems for up to an hour to test the emergency backstop system.
- The AER has released a preliminary position rejecting Transgrid’s bid to pass an extra $1.2 billion of Project EnergyConnect cost blowouts onto consumers.
- Victoria has launched Australia’s first offshore wind auction, seeking 2GW of capacity in the Gippsland zone with bids closing in August 2027, as the state races to replace coal capacity ahead of Yallourn’s 2028 and Eraring’s 2029 closures.
News from Japan
- Japan’s industry ministry has asked Hitachiomiya City, near Tokyo, to accept a two-year literature survey on hosting the country’s final high-level nuclear waste repository, only the second time the central government has proactively requested a site rather than waiting for a local volunteer.
Podcast of the week
The latest episode of Zugzwang: The market modelling podcast is now available! In this episode Jack Simpson, Oliver Nunn and Endgame consultant, Harry McArthur break down our latest modelling on where data centres should be located – and what it means for prices, gas, and the coal fleet along the way. Listen now on your favourite platform.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0346ILtbXgKJJIlOy64p1i
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zugzwang/id6801348317
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQ3gvq2Ccils