Wholesale electricity prices down almost 60% a year on from Australia’s short-lived energy crisis

Renewable energy, particularly rooftop solar, continued to nudge out fossil fuels from the grid in the June quarter, Aemo says. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Emissions from Australia’s main electricity grid dropped more than 6% in the June quarter from a year ago to a record low for the period, and wholesale prices stabilised, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) said.

For the June quarter, wholesale power prices averaged $108 a megawatt hour on the national electricity market (NEM), down almost 60% from the same period a year ago when the market was suspended during a short-lived energy crisis.