Record electricity demand in WA, AEMO reports

Recent heatwaves in the state have led to record wholesale electricity demand, the Australian Energy Market Operator found.

The AEMO released its quarterly report for the first quarter of 2024, finding a record maximum operational demand of 4,233 MW in Western Australia on February 18 2024.

The previous record was 4,040 MW in the fourth quarter of 2023, the AEMO said.

WA recorded seven days above 40 degrees in February, breaking the previous record of four days for the month.

“Multiple heatwave events over the quarter resulted in multiple operational demand records being set,” the AEMO report reads.

“Average operational demand for the quarter was 2,735 MW in Q1 2024, an increase of 223 MW from Q1 2023.

“The increase in demand was met primarily by gas (+88 MW), distributed PV (+76 MW), and wind (+29 MW). The latter was partially driven by the installation of the Flat Rocks Wind Farm.”

Wholesale electricity prices in WA decreased from the previous quarterly period but remained higher than the national average, AEMO found.

The average wholesale electricity price in WA dipped to $78.49 per megawatt hour in the three months to March, compared to the east coast average of $76/MWh.

In WA, the AEMO found domestic gas production in WA increased to 100.3 petajoules, down 4.9 per cent from the previous quarterly but up 12.7 per cent from the same time last year.

AEMO said the key drivers of the changes in WA gas production included supply disruptions at Varanus Island and Wheatstone in early 2024, and decreases from Beharra Springs, Devil Creek, Karratha Gas Plant, Macedone and Wheatstone.

However, the AEMO said the decreases were partially offset by increased production from Gorgon and Walyering.