• The wholesale electricity market is dynamic. Prices change throughout the day, month and year. But most of the time wholesale prices are well below the average fixed rates.
• When the market reaches a certain threshold, Flow Power provides a service to notify customers about these high prices. Flow Power calls these period, market events.
• There are many possible factors that result in a market event being called. Typically, it is caused when there is a higher demand for electricity than can be supplied.
• If you need more information, please contact your Flow Power Demand Response Duty Manager

Demand Response means altering your business’ electricity consumption (or demand) in response to high electricity prices or temporary network constraints. It is an energy saving practice where electricity consumers reduce or shift their use of electricity during periods of peak energy demand. Demand Response helps to maintain stable prices and a stable grid.

Demand Response is an energy saving on-request concept/practice/mechanism where consumers can respond to notifications from their utility/energy retailer to provide a reduction or shift of electricity use during peak energy demand periods for financial incentives. These events are caused when demand is higher than supply resulting in high electricity prices and/or temporary network constraints. Demand Response improves grid stability by reducing demand during peak periods.

• Think of demand response like the energy market equivalent of surge pricing on a rideshare app. When there is more demand, prices rise. When this happens we’ll let you know and you can decide if it makes sense for your business to power down or not.
• Demand response allows your business to take advantage of the true price of energy and avoid the highs.

Put simply, it refers to changing your demand for power by responding to signals from the wholesale energy market.

• Historically, the network is designed as a one-way flow from coal/gas generators to consumers. The increase in renewable energy technologies (Solar, batteries, EVs, etc.) throughout the network has resulted in changes within the network as the flow of electricity has altered. Demand Response is a means to smartly optimise the use of renewable energy technology in the network.
• The peak demand of electricity is increasing every year. Traditionally, to meet with the increased demand, more power stations and power lines are constructed. However, that is no longer a viable option as Australia approaches towards a more renewable and sustainable future. Demand Response allows the smart monitoring of the grid for instabilities and orchestrate the assistance of DR enabled assets to alleviate the stresses during peak demand periods.
• DR is a way to support renewable energy transition, as it allows Customer to better shape their load to match renewable energy generation.
• Demand response rewards businesses for making changes to how and when they use power. It's a mechanism that helps businesses avoid high energy costs, unlock new revenue and helps to support our energy system when it needs it.

Demand Response results in a much more efficient electricity market, as well as savings and revenue for customers. Depending on how Flow Power Customers set up their demand response participation, it can provide them with additional revenue or a saving on their electricity bill that is substantially more than the cost incurred to participate in demand response. For wholesale electricity customers, this occurs automatically as they respond to the market signals.

At Flow Power, we analyse the market to inform our customers when a potential event is happening.

Demand Response can improve your price efficiency as it limits your exposure to high energy prices, or it can help you to add value to the electrical assets you already own such as generators, batteries or co-gen.

Demand response doesn't have to mean big changes in power use. Even small changes can make a difference.

It can be as simple as powering down non-essential operations when you receive a signal from the energy market or moving more energy intensive operations to different times of the day.

Setting daily non-essential operations, like forklift charging, to take place at low-peak times in the afternoon or overnight.

Pre-cooling refrigerators early in the day and powering down during peak price periods for just an hour or two.

Powering down non-essential plant operations for the few hours over summer when prices peak.

To find out other ways to improve your price efficiency, please talk to your Account Manager about Flow Power’s Energy Ready service, or other Demand Response and energy efficiency programs.

• Market Monitoring
  • Electricity is financially traded in the NEM at a $/MW at specific intervals. The prices fluctuate throughout the day ensuring supply meets demand.
  • At Flow Power, we provide a service to monitor the spot price of electricity in the NEM and inform our customers when prices are forecasted to be high so they can manage their energy consumption accordingly.
  • We call these periods of high electricity prices, Market Events.
• RERT aka Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader
  • RERT is an intervention mechanism under the National Electricity Rules (NER) that allows AEMO to contract for emergency reserves, such as generation or Demand Response, that are not otherwise available in the market. AEMO uses RERT as a safety net in case a critical shortfall in reserves is forecast. RERT is activated when all market options have been exhausted, typically during periods when the supply demand balance is tight.
  • At Flow Power, we group eligible customers into portfolios to participate in RERT programs.
• Network Support Programs
  • In certain distribution networks, the distribution business may offer a program to help support the network during peak demand periods.
  • An example of this is the AusNet Critical Peak Demand (CPD) program which aims to help large business customers within the AusNet Services network to reduce their electricity costs.
  • Introduced in 2010, the CPD program incentivises large businesses to cut their consumption for four hours on five days of high network demand between December and March to secure a reduced electricity demand charge for the next 12 months.
• Demand Response trials
  • To improve Flow Power’s DR capabilities, we are constantly on the lookout for businesses to participate in Demand Response trials with organisations such as ARENA (Australia Renewable Energy Agency), Local Councils/Municipals. These trials tend to provide subsidies for customers who are curious about DR and how it would affect their business.
  • Examples of these DR trials are:
    • SA DR trials
    • ARENA NSW DR trials
• Frequency Control Auxiliary Services (FCAS)
  • The NEM operates at a nominal 50 Hz frequency and under “normal conditions” is kept between 49.85 – 50.15 Hz (the Normal Operating Frequency Band)
  • The frequency of the electrical grid is the frequency of the oscillations of the alternating current, the “speed” of the grid is an often-used analogy
  • Imbalances in supply and demand alter this speed – too much supply (or too little demand) and the frequency increases, too much demand (or too little supply) and the frequency decreases
  • Most electrical equipment has protective circuits that trip when frequency deviates outside specific limits, so it’s important to maintain it within tight operational tolerances
  • FCAS is the service to maintain the frequency within certain parameters.