Record levels of renewable energy drive down electricity prices across Australia

Power costs zero or negative for one-sixth of the September quarter, energy operator says

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Record levels of renewable energy drove down electricity prices across Australia in the September quarter, with prices zero or negative for one-sixth of the time, the Australian Energy Market Operator has said in its latest report.

There was also little sign of the Morrison government's much-touted gas-led recovery", with a supply disruption at Victoria's Longford gas plant initially leading to record or near-record spot prices for the fossil fuel in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. Gas's share of the power mix also slumped one-fifth from a year earlier for the quarter as a whole.