WA1 · WEM, 30-min trading intervals
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Western Australian price forecasts operate under the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), which uses 30-minute trading intervals rather than the NEM's 5-minute dispatch. The WEM also has a significantly lower price cap of approximately $324/MWh compared to the NEM's $17,500/MWh, which constrains the upside range of forecast prices.
Gas-fired generation dominates the WEM, and forecast prices are strongly influenced by gas supply costs and the availability of gas-fired generating capacity. Unlike the NEM regions where coal provides low-cost baseload, the WEM's gas-dependent fleet means that forecast prices are sensitive to movements in the domestic gas market.
Wind and solar capacity are growing in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), and rooftop solar is increasingly depressing midday forecast prices. However, the lack of interconnection to any other market means Western Australian forecast prices are determined entirely by local supply and demand conditions, with no ability to import cheaper generation from other regions.
See current WA spot prices for live dispatch context, or read the wholesale electricity guide for background on how AEMO pre-dispatch forecasts are constructed.
No. AEMO pre-dispatch forecasts are published for the NEM only. The WEM (WA1) has no equivalent pre-dispatch product, so this page shows current WEM market conditions and weather instead.
The WEM sets a trading price every 30 minutes by matching generator bids to forecast demand across the SWIS. Without a published pre-dispatch series, market participants rely on the live trading price and generator availability data.
Gas-fired generation availability is the primary driver of WA price movements, since gas supplies the majority of WEM output and there is no interconnection to import electricity from other regions.
See the live WA spot price and 24-hour chart on the WA electricity price page, linked below.