Western Australian Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM)

The WEM began on 21 September 2006 and covers all participants connected to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS). The market is operated by the Independent Market Operator (IMO) and comprises a wholesale electricity trading component and a capacity component. Most electricity is traded through bilateral contracts between Market Generators and Market Customers who, at the wholesale level, are mostly retailers’ on-selling electricity to end use customers. 

The market supports the following trading mechanisms:

·         Reserve Capacity: The Reserve Capacity Mechanism ensures there is adequate generation and Demand Side Management (DSM) capacity available each year to meet system peak demand plus a reserve margin.

·         The Short Term Energy Market (STEM). The STEM is a daily forward market for energy that allows Market Participants to trade around their bilateral energy position, producing a net contract position.

·         Dispatch/Balancing Process. Market Participants with registered generators or dispatchable loads provide schedules called Resource Plans to the IMO that cover their net contract position.                                

For more information see www.imowa.com.au/ 

Energy Response works with Providers and market participants to help procure DSM capacity for the Reserve Capacity mechanism, establish off-market transactions that utilise DSM to enable market participants to meet their bilateral commitments, and with the network operator (Western Power) to overcome areas where significant network constraints exist.