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.