The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has developed a factsheet to help the public understand how the National Electricity Market (NEM) works.
In a statement accompanying the factsheet, the AEMO said the NEM spanned Australia’s Eastern and South-Eastern coasts, a distance of approximately 5,000 kilometres, and comprised of five interconnected States — Queensland, NSW (including the ACT), South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.
It said Western Australia and the Northern Territory were not connected to the NEM, primarily due to the distance between networks.
“The AEMO is responsible for monitoring electricity consumption and the flow of energy across the power system and controls the NEM via two identical control centres in different States,” the AEMO said.
“There are more than 419 registered participants in the NEM, including market generators, transmission network service providers, distribution network service providers, and market customers.”
The factsheet indicates that the NEM began operations as a wholesale spot market for electricity in 1998, and now incorporates 40,000 kilometres of transmission lines and cables.
“It supplies 200 terawatt hours of electricity to 10 million businesses and households each year,” the factsheet says.
“As of April this year the NEM had a total electricity generating capacity of 55,269MW.”
AEMO’s four-page factsheet can be accessed at this PS News link.
