Energy Systems Seminar: Wholesale Markets

Theatre B, Old Arts Building,
University of Melbourne,
Parkville VIC 3052

Map

More Information

Ruby Brown

ruby.brown@unimelb.edu.au

T: +61 3 9035 3641

MEInetwork18 is pleased to present our seventh Energy Systems Seminar, which will explore wholesale markets in the Australian context.

Electricity supply is one of Australia’s largest industries. In this talk, Brian Nelson from AEMO will examine some measures of the size and value of the NEM. At the heart of the NEM is sophisticated constrained optimisation software known as the NEM Dispatch Engine, or NEMDE. Brian will also cover some important aspects of NEMDE such as market clearing, constraint formulation and ancillary services.

Shariq Riaz from the University of Melbourne will then discuss how the increasing penetration level of variable renewable electricity (VRE) sources raises a number of power system security concerns. In particular, analysis of future power systems revealed that without implementation of appropriate measures, the Australian National Electricity Market will experience increasing issues of frequency control primarily due to loss of synchronous inertia. Nonetheless, there also exists the potential to implement several operational and market measures, for example augmenting the existing dispatch engines with new constraints, to ensure frequency response adequacy in VRE-rich power systems. Moreover, there are a number of emerging technologies that can play important roles in the provision of frequency control ancillary services and more in general flexibility services, for which appropriate electricity market design will be needed.

Following the seminars, participants and speakers will have the opportunity for further discussion over food and drinks.

Speakers

Brian Nelson is Manager Electricity Market Monitoring at AEMO, responsible for developing the NEM central dispatch and pricing process, monitoring NEM price outcomes, and determining compensation following directions. In a career spanning nearly four decades, Brian has worked in power generation, transmission, system operation and market operation in NSW utilities and the national market operator. Brian’s career highlights include managing the participant trial for NEM commencement, and facilitating a change to the Macquarie Dictionary's definition of the work "generator".

Shariq Riaz received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan in 2009 and 2012, respectively, and the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Sydney in 2018. He is currently a Research Fellow in the Power and Energy Systems Group at the University of Melbourne. Before joining the University of Melbourne, he was working as a Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Energy Networks, The University of Sydney, Australia. His has expertise in optimisation, power system operation, demand response modelling, and electricity markets. His research interests include integration of renewable generation, storage, virtual power plants and prosumers into electricity markets.

Process to Register

Participation is open to employees of our partner organisations and University of Melbourne graduate students. If you wish to attend and are an employee of our partner organisations, or a graduate student please contact Ruby Brown via ruby.brown@unimelb.edu.au

While attendance is limited to graduate students and partner employees, a range of upcoming MEI events are open to the public. To stay up to date on these events subscribe to our newsletter.

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