An El Niño summer coming – but you can navigate it safely and smartly

This summer’s forecast and what it means for you  

The Bureau of Meteorology announced that Australia’s in for an El Nino summer in 2024, meaning that until April, there’ll be an increased risk of price volatility in the wholesale electricity market as the grid struggles to keep up with increased demand from homes and businesses trying to stay cool.  

It’ll be extra important to monitor your energy approach over the summer and try to avoid using energy during high price events that will negatively impact your Price Efficiency Adjustment (PEA).  Using electricity when the wholesale market price is lower will help to improve your PEA.

Here’s how you can get the balance right.   

Get notified of high price events  

Our price notifications feature will help you navigate any summer price spikes. It’ll notify you when the wholesale energy price exceeds a certain threshold.   

You can set up Custom Price Notifications to track the wholesale energy market’s pricing by receiving alerts every five minutes when the energy price exceeds your chosen threshold (50c/kWh, $1/kWh or $5/kWh). We’d recommend choosing to receive alerts when the price rises over 50c to start with. (You can learn more about which threshold’s right for you on this webpage.)  

We’ll also automatically send you Priority Price Notifications ahead of a high price event on the wholesale market, which we define as when the price exceeds $10kWh on the wholesale market. When high price events occur, we’ll also let you know when the event has finished, or if it   goes for longer than expected. Quick and unexpected fluctuations can and do occur in live market events – so it’s important to keep an eye on your notifications 

The below video provides a step-by-step guide on setting up price notifications in the Flow Power app.  

Plan ahead with the Flow Power app 

This summer’s a great time to practice load-shifting and your app’s Energy Forecast is here to help. 

You can use the Forecast to find market-predicted price-efficient times to use energy over the course of a day or a week. Scheduling energy-intensive tasks during price-efficient times will help you avoid higher electricity prices and could help you improve your PEA.  

Why not consider load-shifting by…  

  • Cooking earlier than usual, or cooking in bulk (meal-prepping) during price-efficient periods 
  • Using your Smart Plug to charge your devices when you’re away from home 
  • Programming your air-conditioner to pre-cool your house 
  • Setting your dishwasher or washing machine to run during price-efficient times 

There’s more than one way you can use the app’s insights. If the Forecast says it’s going to be an expensive evening (when the circle is red), why not skip Netflix for a picnic outside? Or if your live energy use is higher than expected, why not apply an energy saving tip?  

Note: you should always consider your health and safety before following our app’s suggestions or advice.   

The easiest way to stay informed and in control over the summer is to opt-in price notifications. 

Click here for more information on setting them up via the Flow Power app!