The New South Wales Government will include a 1,500 MW carve-out for gas-fired generation in its 2027 Long-Term Energy Service Agreement firming tender. The procurement process requires eligible projects to provide eight hours of dispatchable capacity to replace retiring coal infrastructure by May 2033. EnergyAustralia expressed interest in the tender for its 1,400 MW Marulan project. Squadron Energy called for stronger investment frameworks to support the transition. AEMO issued a direction to a participant in the Queensland region at 11:05 AEST on October 13. The market intervention was necessary to maintain the power system in a secure operating state in accordance with section 116 of the National Electricity Law. AEMO also declared a Low Reserve Condition for Victoria. The Medium Term Projected Assessment of System Adequacy identified that annual unserved energy exceeds the reliability standard between October 2027 and October 2028.
New South Wales battery storage assets generated approximately $5.63 million in revenue during a two-hour price spike on October 12. The earnings increase occurred when wholesale electricity costs reached a peak of $23,107/MWh in the regional market. WattClarity analyzed coal-fired generation availability across the NEM on the same day to assess current and upcoming plant outages. WattClarity estimated that specific unit downtime influenced broader power system reliability and price dynamics during the period. WattClarity forecast reduced price volatility for the New South Wales region on October 13 following the significant market fluctuations recorded the previous day.
The NEM recorded a mean price of $122.60/MWh, which ranked second highest over the past seven days and sat above the seven-day average of $81.70/MWh. Queensland recorded a regional average of $214.90/MWh, the highest for that region over the past week compared to a seven-day average of $122.10/MWh. The highest price reached $446/MWh in New South Wales at 17:40, while the lowest fell to -$35/MWh in Victoria at 12:30. South Australia and Victoria each recorded 17.3 hours of negative prices, representing 72.2 per cent of the day. New South Wales registered the demand peak of 8,695 MW at 17:50. Renewables provided 37.5 per cent of total energy with an instantaneous peak of 55.4 per cent at 10:25.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency allocated up to $31.1 million to establish solar robotics manufacturing facilities in Melbourne and Brisbane. The investment aims to scale up the production of automated piling and panel installation technologies developed in Australia. The facilities will manufacture automated systems designed to improve the safety and speed of large-scale solar farm assembly. The agency also provided $1.2 million to Australian firm Built Robotics to develop and deploy autonomous machinery to automate the installation of solar pile foundations. The pilot program targets accelerated construction timelines and improved onsite safety for large-scale solar developments across the country.
ENEOS Corporation commissioned a large-scale green hydrogen plant at Bulwer Island in Brisbane. The facility utilizes proprietary electrochemical technology to manufacture methylcyclohexane as a liquid carrier. Samsung C&T referred the 500 MW and 800 MWh Darnum battery energy storage system in Victoria to the federal government for environmental assessment. The proposal enters the queue for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to support grid stability in the Gippsland region. Hydro Tasmania completed a major upgrade of the Huxley Hill Wind Farm on King Island. The refurbishment included the successful repair of a wind turbine damaged during a wind event, while several other Australian wind developments recently advanced through financing and construction phases.
The Electric Vehicle Council will lead the development of a National EV Charging Roadmap to coordinate infrastructure planning for the expanding domestic fleet. The strategic framework aligns industry and government efforts to identify the specific charging requirements needed to support large-scale electric vehicle adoption. Natural gas prices increased 4.7 per cent to US$3.32/mmbtu. TTF gas prices rose 2.9 per cent to EUR86.80/MWh.
AEMO opened consultation on its draft 2027 General Power System Risk Review approach paper, with submissions closing on November 12. Western Power reported that four new power infrastructure projects are underway or due to start this year. The projects will provide a boost of at least 3,470 new residential housing lots for Western Australians. AEMO Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Daniel Westerman delivered a speech at the 2026 AFR Energy and Climate Summit.