Market and system operator
Appears in 5 stories · Last updated Nov 4, 2026
Runs the inter-network testing program and releases capacity
At 12:30 pm on 4 November 2026, the Australian Energy Market Operator put three 330-kilovolt lines into service in western New South Wales. The Bunday–Buronga line and the two Buronga–Dinawan lines are the second circuit of Project EnergyConnect, the 900-kilometre link between South Australia and New South Wales. Their commissioning started the inter-network testing program that governs how fast the link's capacity grows.
Updated 7 days ago
As of September 2026: Approved the battery to operate at full capacity
Australia's most powerful battery is finally running at full capacity. The 850-megawatt Waratah Super Battery reached final commercial operations on September 28, more than a year after a transformer failure cut its output in half.
Updated Sep 28
As of September 2026: Operates the National Electricity Market
On a sunny Saturday lunchtime in September, wind and solar met 80.4% of demand on Australia's main electricity grid for the first time. Rooftop panels alone supplied more than half the power, and coal dropped to an 18.8% share, a record low.
Updated Sep 22
As of September 2026: Issued grid connection approval for Silver City
Broken Hill has kept its lights on during grid outages with diesel generators nearing retirement. That backup is about to take a new form: Hydrostor received grid connection approval in early September for a 200-megawatt compressed-air storage plant built into disused mine caverns next to town.
Updated Sep 4
As of May 2026: Coordinating grid-forming battery deployment
When Tesla built a 100-megawatt battery in South Australia in 2017, it was the world's largest. Eight years later, Australia has become the third-largest grid battery market globally, adding 8.6 gigawatt-hours of storage in 2025 alone—a tripling from the previous year. The country now has nearly 100 grid-forming battery projects in its development pipeline.
Updated May 29
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