{"id":101393,"date":"2026-08-26T05:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T20:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=101393"},"modified":"2026-08-26T06:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T20:37:03","slug":"are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Synergy’s Batteries Gaming WA’s Power Market?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Synergy<\/p>\n

Western Australia’s government-owned Synergy has an unusual position in the electricity market: it owns some of the state’s biggest batteries, as well as generators selling electricity into the same market.<\/p>\n

New analysis has found its batteries sometimes charging at surprisingly high wholesale prices in the middle of the night, helping push those prices even higher. On the one hand, Synergy is paying more to charge its batteries. On the other hand, its generators could benefit from higher wholesale prices.<\/p>\n

The prices discussed in this article are wholesale electricity prices. Individual price spikes don’t flow directly through to the regulated tariffs that most WA households and small businesses pay. But persistently higher wholesale costs can ultimately affect the cost of supplying electricity in WA.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

When Does Battery Trading Become A Problem?<\/h2>\n

Normally, batteries make money through a simple strategy: charge when electricity is cheap and discharge when it’s expensive. It’s called energy arbitrage.<\/p>\n

Home battery owners can do much the same, particularly with electricity plans that vary in price.\u00a0The important difference is that your home battery takes the electricity price as given.<\/p>\n

Synergy’s batteries are now big enough to help determine that price. WA’s Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) says batteries set the state’s real-time wholesale electricity price during 86% of dispatch intervals in the first half of 2026. This happens more often while charging than discharging.<\/p>\n

So Synergy isn’t simply responding to wholesale prices when deciding when to charge. Its batteries can influence the very prices at which its generators sell.<\/p>\n

And that’s exactly what a new analysis of Synergy’s alleged battery trading has put under the spotlight.<\/p>\n

The Evidence Behind The Concern<\/h2>\n

Modo Energy analyst Marcus Freese<\/a> examined an extraordinary period between 1 AM and 2 AM on July 12, when Synergy ramped up its battery charging from 229 MW to 640 MW.<\/p>\n

The extra load added roughly a third to electricity demand at the overnight trough, while wholesale prices climbed from around $120\/MWh to more than $350\/MWh.<\/p>\n

Freese found this wasn’t an isolated event.<\/p>\n

Across 71 high-price charging days, Synergy’s batteries paid $7.3 million for electricity while Synergy-owned generation earned $18.4 million during those events.<\/p>\n

\"Synergy

Synergy battery charging costs and generation revenue across 71 high-price charging days. Source: Modo Energy analysis.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Those figures don’t mean Synergy pocketed the $11.1 million difference, nor do they prove the batteries caused all that generation revenue.<\/p>\n

They do illustrate the potential portfolio incentive.<\/p>\n

\u201cA high charging offer increases the price paid by the battery, but it can also increase the price earned by generation in the same portfolio,\u201d Freese says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Freese also modelled what would have happened on July 12 if Synergy had charged its batteries differently. He found they could have bought the same amount of electricity while charging more when prices were cheaper, and the peak wholesale price would have been lower.<\/p>\n

The Regulator Is Already Looking At The Problem<\/h2>\n

Interestingly, WA’s electricity market regulator, the ERA, had already identified precisely this potential problem.<\/p>\n

Its August 6 discussion paper<\/a> on the battery market offers says that an operator owning both batteries and generators could have an incentive to submit high-priced charging offers that increase market prices. This could happen even when those prices aren’t justified by the battery’s own costs, opportunity costs, or operating requirements.<\/p>\n

It’s not the first time Synergy’s market behaviour has come under scrutiny<\/a>. In 2022, the Electricity Review Board found Synergy had breached market rules<\/a> by making generation offers linked to its market power.<\/p>\n

The ERA says: \u201cCharging offers should reflect the efficient operation of the individual BESS Facility, not the Market Participant’s portfolio.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It also warns that portfolio-based behaviour may raise concerns under electricity market rules covering conduct that distorts or manipulates wholesale prices.<\/p>\n

None of this establishes that Synergy\u2019s current battery trading has broken any rules.<\/p>\n

Freese says market data alone can’t prove why a battery charges at high prices. Batteries may need stored energy to meet future grid obligations, while rapidly changing price forecasts can make apparently strange charging decisions seem perfectly reasonable.<\/p>\n

Synergy\u2019s Response<\/h2>\n

Synergy has not publicly provided a specific explanation for why its batteries were charging during the high-price periods identified in the analysis.<\/p>\n

In a statement reported by the ABC<\/a>, the government-owned retailer instead pointed to batteries being relatively new technology whose capabilities would continue to be monitored and refined, and said they allowed more renewable energy into the system:<\/p>\n

\u201cwhile enhancing system reliability through rapid response to changing system conditions\u201d.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

WA Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson also declined to address the specific trading behaviour, instead defending the state’s broader energy strategy:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve always said that the most reliable and affordable energy mix for the future is renewables backed by batteries and gas.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She also stressed that regulated households and small businesses are shielded from wholesale price movements.<\/p>\n

Batteries Aren’t The Villain Here<\/h2>\n

Big batteries are already helping WA absorb increasing amounts of renewable energy and smooth out wholesale prices. The issue is what happens when batteries become powerful enough not merely to respond to electricity prices, but to influence them.<\/p>\n

That’s particularly uncomfortable when the batteries are government-owned, and their owner also has generators, potentially benefiting from higher wholesale prices.<\/p>\n

There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation for Synergy’s charging behaviour. But without one, it’s a lousy look for batteries, which are relied upon to help deliver a cheaper, cleaner electricity system, and it risks undermining confidence in the renewable energy transition.<\/p>\n

For more on Australia’s changing energy market, minus the industry jargon, sign up for the free SolarQuotes newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Western Australia’s government-owned Synergy has an unusual position in the electricity market: it owns some of the state’s biggest batteries, as well as generators selling electricity into the same market. New analysis has found its batteries sometimes charging at surprisingly high wholesale prices in the middle of the night, helping push those prices even higher. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":101397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[636],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electricity-prices","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAre Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kim Wainwright\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kim Wainwright\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9adafb58c24443f417fa424faa925d85\"},\"headline\":\"Are Synergy’s Batteries Gaming WA’s Power Market?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":952,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Electricity Prices\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/\",\"name\":\"Are Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Synergy Kwinana battery storage\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Electricity Prices\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/electricity-prices\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Are Synergy’s Batteries Gaming WA’s Power Market?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SolarQuotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/solarquotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/au.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/solarquotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9adafb58c24443f417fa424faa925d85\",\"name\":\"Kim Wainwright\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Kim Wainwright\"},\"description\":\"A solar installer and electrician in a previous life, Kim has been blogging for SolarQuotes since 2022. He enjoys translating complex aspects of the solar industry into content that the layperson can understand and digest. He spends his time reading about renewable energy and sustainability, while simultaneously juggling teaching and performing guitar music around various parts of Australia. Read Kim's full bio.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/kimwainwright\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?","description":"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Are Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?","og_description":"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kim Wainwright","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/"},"author":{"name":"Kim Wainwright","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9adafb58c24443f417fa424faa925d85"},"headline":"Are Synergy’s Batteries Gaming WA’s Power Market?","datePublished":"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/"},"wordCount":952,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","articleSection":["Electricity Prices"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/","name":"Are Synergy's Batteries Gaming WA's Power Market?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-25T20:02:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-25T20:37:03+00:00","description":"Are Synergy's batteries gaming WA's power market? New analysis raises questions about battery charging and wholesale prices.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Synergy Kwinana battery storage"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/are-synergys-batteries-gaming-wa-power-market\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Electricity Prices","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/electricity-prices\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Are Synergy’s Batteries Gaming WA’s Power Market?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9adafb58c24443f417fa424faa925d85","name":"Kim Wainwright","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e53abde940ad5ac8de2e77a87db36c8bcf19c673a63cec9dbecb02b0bf129714?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Kim Wainwright"},"description":"A solar installer and electrician in a previous life, Kim has been blogging for SolarQuotes since 2022. He enjoys translating complex aspects of the solar industry into content that the layperson can understand and digest. He spends his time reading about renewable energy and sustainability, while simultaneously juggling teaching and performing guitar music around various parts of Australia. Read Kim's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/kimwainwright\/"}]}},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-qnn","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26851,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wa-wholesale-electricity-mb0885\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":0},"title":"WA Wholesale Electricity Price Rises Under The Spotlight","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Synergy's wholesale electricity market dominance has been highlighted in a discussion paper from Western Australia's Economic Regulation Authority (ERA) released a few days before Xmas. Synergy is Western Australia's largest electricity generator and retailer, providing 52% of the electricity sold to residential and commercial customers in the South West Interconnected\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Wholesale Electricity Prices - Western Australia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/wholesale-electricity-wa.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/wholesale-electricity-wa.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/wholesale-electricity-wa.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/wholesale-electricity-wa.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41425,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/big-vs-home-batteries\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":1},"title":"Will The Rise Of Big Grid Batteries Make Home Batteries Pointless?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"July 27, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Long ago, when the internet was made of nothing but\u00a0stone knives and bearskins,\u00a0it sounded like this, and looked rubbish: Around the same time, some commentators claimed residential solar power made no financial sense because large solar farms were cheaper.\u00a0 Sometimes they would go into a rant about how rooftop solar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tesla Megapack","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/big-grid-battery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/big-grid-battery.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/big-grid-battery.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/big-grid-battery.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/big-grid-battery.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62829,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-electricity-price-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":2},"title":"An Idiot’s Guide To Australia’s Electricity Price Problem","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"June 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Unless you live under a rock, you'd have heard about the blowout in wholesale electricity prices in the eastern states. Things were so bad that on the 14th of June, AEMO suspended the wholesale electricity market for the first time in its history. It has been called an energy crisis,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electricity Prices"","block_context":{"text":"Electricity Prices","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/electricity-prices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/price-reaction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/price-reaction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/price-reaction.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/price-reaction.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/price-reaction.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52447,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nem-5-minute-settlement\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":3},"title":"What Is 5-Minute Settlement And How Does It Help Batteries?","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"August 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"On October 1st, Australia's National Electricity Market is changing from 30-minute to 5-minute settlement. In this article, I'll explain exactly what Australian households need to do to prepare for this event.\u00a0 This is easy because what's required is... ...absolutely nothing. While all grid users will benefit from the coming change,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Battery Storage"","block_context":{"text":"Battery Storage","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/battery-storage\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"National Electricity Market - 5 minute settlement","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/5-minute-settlement.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/5-minute-settlement.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/5-minute-settlement.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/5-minute-settlement.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/5-minute-settlement.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":95694,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wholesale-electricity-prices-mb3304\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":4},"title":"NEM Wholesale Electricity Prices Tumble, But …\u00a0","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The growth in renewables including rooftop solar \u2014 and energy storage \u2014 continue to put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices; even as the shift to electrification accelerates. Whether\/when we'll see that flow on to household electricity bills and by how much is another matter. How Did Wholesale Electricity Prices\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electricity Prices"","block_context":{"text":"Electricity Prices","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/electricity-prices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powerlines","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wholesale-electricity-prices.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wholesale-electricity-prices.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wholesale-electricity-prices.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wholesale-electricity-prices.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/wholesale-electricity-prices.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11696,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/when-electricity-price-hikes-dont-improve-the-economics-of-batteries\/","url_meta":{"origin":101393,"position":5},"title":"When Electricity Price Hikes Don’t Improve The Economics Of Batteries","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"May 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've already written on how electricity prices are set to rise substantially. Because Australians will soon have to shell out like an evicted hermit crab when it comes to grid power, both the good and bad mainstream media are declaring\u00a0that rising power costs make buying batteries more attractive. Unfortunately for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Electricity Prices"","block_context":{"text":"Electricity Prices","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/electricity-prices\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"batteries and bills","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/comparison_scales.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/comparison_scales.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/comparison_scales.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/synergy-kwinana-battery-storage.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101393"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101443,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101393\/revisions\/101443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}