Quote Originally Posted by Snoopy View Post
I don't follow the power market in California, but that article would suggest that it is structured somewhat differently to what we have in New Zealand.

SNOOPY
Quite possibly, but there are the same fundamental issues, if likely peak demand exceeds available capacity there is a problem. The likelihood of demand exceeding supply is low if demand is predictable and reserve is built into the system and lower still if there is demand that can be safely dropped - both of which NZ have. The chances of a problem increase when the levels of reserve in the system are decreased (as happened in California). The chances increase further when there is a surge in demand (as happened in California). The chances increase again when expected generation capacity is not available.

We sometimes reference all these issues coinciding as the perfect storm, but multiple unlikely events can coincide.