Government expands energy price forecasting capabilities

• The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is building an in-house power forecasting system to manage shifts in electricity usage.
• The new independent capabilities are confirmed to cost taxpayers a minimum of $7.5 million in procurement contracts.
• The programme aims to better project the consumer bill and grid impacts of data centres, home batteries, and electric vehicles.

The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has executed an agreement to establish its own internal power grid modelling team to better forecast electricity prices and grid changes.

The decision follows shifts in the energy sector, where rapid growth in data centre construction and electric vehicle adoption has disrupted traditional, long-term power consumption projections.

“The government already models energy supply to support policy development – this contract will support government in the same way,” said Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

The minimum $7.5 million project will commence in June, with the government aiming to have the internal analytics platform operational within a 12-month window.

The internal deployment follows a July review that concluded the government branch possessed inadequate frameworks to efficiently utilise its strategic data assets.

The federal unit stated that the new analytical tools will complement rather than replace the existing forecasting models run by the Australian Energy Market Operator.