This page is being retained, to record our thanks for the support provided by Energy Consumers’ Australia over a 10 year period (June 2016 to June 2026) in sponsoring the Electricity Consumption Widget.
Here’s a snapshot of the widget in one of its last days:
We were pleased to be able to work with the ECA team to assist the ECA’s stakeholders (firstly energy consumers themselves, but also advocates and others) to progressively learn about electricity consumption patterns across the main electricity grids across Australia.
BACKGROUND
This widget was first released in June 2016 … and, following from that time, many developments occurred relating to the energy transition.
By the time the sponsorship arrangement came to an end (in June 2026) the widget had achieved its purpose, in helping to raise awareness of changing electricity consumption patterns across the two main electricity grids in Australia.
EXPLAINING THE WIDGET
It showed, for each region of Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) and the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS)of Western Australia, a measure of electricity consumption:
- In the east, the NEM covers only ½ of the Australian land-mass but accounts for roughly 90% of electricity consumed across the country.
- In the west, the WEM is the largest grid (in energy terms) in the rest of the country, supplying the city of Perth and surrounding areas of south-western WA.
The widget showed an instantaneous rate of consumption (i.e. MWh per hour – or simply MW) and utilised data published by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO):
- For the NEM (in the east) the widget showed electricity consumption using the “DEMAND_AND_NONSCHEDGEN” figure from the AEMO’s MMS infoserver DISPATCHREGIONSUM table.
- When this was implemented (June 2016) this related fairly closely with what theAEMO loosely defined as “Operational Demand”.
- But, 10 years later, the numbers had diverged significantly
- For those who want to understand more about the complexities of measuring ‘demand’:
- Please refer to this longer ‘An explainer about electricity demand [take 1]’ article
- It’s not as simple as it might initially seem!
- In WA:
- the widget initially showed consumption using the “Operation Load Estimate” figure from the WA AEMO Operational Measurements. The operational load is the average of the point-in-time estimates of the total load in the SWIS.
- again, 10 years later, the AEMO data sets had also changed.
The NEM operates in Australian Eastern Standard Time (i.e. no daylight savings – so Brisbane time) and this is the time stamp given to the AEMO data displayed. The WEM operates in Australian Western Standard Time (i.e. Perth time).
All data was shown as close to your current viewing time as possible.
ABOUT NEM-WATCH
This widget has been developed as a companion to our NEM-Watch™ software application.
NEM-Watch™ is a dashboard application that most of a diverse range of clients run 24×7 to enable them to keep an eye on how the NEM is operating.
In this portal here, we explain how clients use NEM-Watch to assist with:
(a) Situational Awareness
(b) Active Analysis
(c) Education and training; and
(d) More effective communication
NEM-Watch™ is just one of the software products developed by us at GLOBAL-ROAM Pty Ltd (a company focused on making the complexity in energy markets understandable to a broad range of people since 2000).
CAN WE HELP YOU WITH YOUR OWN WIDGET?
Perhaps we can help you through the development, for you, of a widget that focuses on a particular point of interest you have in the competitive energy market?
If so, please let us know:
- Please call us on +61 (0)7 3368 4064 to let us know; or
- Email us with your contact details, and what you would like us to do, so we can follow up with you.