The NSW Government introduced legislation to expand Mount Pleasant coal production by 32 per cent. The bill seeks to authorise the production increase despite ongoing legal challenges regarding the project's environmental approvals. Critics claim the move bypasses a pending High Court ruling.
The NEM average price was $62.8/MWh. Victoria recorded a daily average price of -$5.8/MWh, the lowest in its seven-day range. The highest price reached $137/MWh in New South Wales at 05:30. Negative-price hours were large in Victoria at 33.7 hours and South Australia at 25.3 hours. New South Wales recorded the demand peak of 8,296 MW at 18:35, while renewables supplied 51.0 per cent of energy across the day.
AEMO cancelled a forecast Lack of Reserve Level 2 condition for South Australia covering the period from 09:00 to 12:30 on 22 October. The Murraylink interconnector experienced an unplanned outage around midday on 19 October. An AEMO market notice regarding the event referenced ongoing protected industrial action, though WattClarity noted a direct causal link between the labour dispute and the transmission failure remains unconfirmed. WattClarity estimated that the system frequency dip at 11:00 softened and became less consistent in October, after appearing to cement itself by the end of September. Utility-scale battery owners and home battery owners exposed to the market or a virtual power plant captured revenue opportunities following the return of volatility in the NEM last week.
The Australian Signals Directorate updated its CI Fortify guidance, advising critical infrastructure providers to verify their capacity to maintain essential services for three months while entirely disconnected from external networks. The revised target challenges existing operational standards for network independence during prolonged cyber or physical disruptions. The Queensland Treasury shortlisted four entrants from an initial 10 in a tender for gas-fired power generation in the Gladstone region.
The Victorian Government confirmed construction began on the Marinus Link project at Hazelwood. The interconnector will combine Victoria's wind and solar with Tasmania's flexible hydropower and geographically diverse wind. Proposed renewable projects from Neoen, Windlab, Altra Energy, and Heron Energy were selected in a tender process for the Whyalla West Release Area in South Australia. Western Australia's Clean Energy Link East project will expand transmission capacity in the South West Interconnected System to support the state's coal phase-out.
Atmos Renewables acquired a portfolio of operational and development-stage wind and solar assets from BayWa r.e., including the Yatpool and Hughenden solar farms. The transaction increases Atmos Renewables' total operating and under-construction capacity in Australia to more than 2 GW. The acquisition follows BayWa r.e.'s strategic decision to exit the Australian market and refocus on its European operations. ARENA chief executive officer Darren Miller will not seek a fourth term when his current tenure concludes.
Natural gas prices fell 2.3 per cent to US$3.04/mmbtu.
AEMO opened consultation on its dispatch algorithm formulation discussion paper, with submissions closing on 13 November. AEMO is seeking feedback on its draft MCC assessment for addressing system strength requirements in Queensland from December 2025, closing 30 November. AEMO also published an options screening report for AusNet Services regarding secure supply and connections for the Beveridge area, with submissions due 11 January.