26-02-10: 8.15am
Stanwell advises the market of a coal supply disruption that is likely to lead to an energy constraint in relation to Gladstone Power Station (GPS). As a consequence, Stanwell will need to limit the energy that can be generated from GPS and this may result in one or more units being placed on reserve shutdown.
Stanwell will keep AEMO and the market informed of the impact that the coal supply constraints will have on the energy that can be generated from GPS and the availability of generating units during this period. This will be managed through the MTPASA and STPASA processes.
Our Energy Trading division bids our available generating capacity into the National Electricity Market (NEM), a wholesale market for the supply and purchase of electricity managed by the Australian Energy Market Operator.
Within the NEM, electricity generators compete for the right to generate electricity into a central pool by submitting competitive price bids to supply nominated quantities of generation in certain timeslots throughout the day. We sell the electricity from our power stations into this market pool, and are paid according to the spot price or existing hedge contracts with customers.
We also undertake financial transactions in the electricity derivative market to manage our price risk exposure within the NEM. These transactions are undertaken with counterparties, which include electricity retailers, banks and other wholesale energy companies.
From time to time our operating sites are brought offline to undergo important maintenance works. These planned outages ensure a high level of availability and, in turn, a reliable supply of electricity to the national electricity grid.