Grid

Victoria is the country's second biggest energy user, after New South Wales.

The energy generated from all Victorian sources in 2008/2009 was 47000 GWh, and its installed capacity is around 8500 MW.

The Victorian energy grid is connected to grids of states on the eastern seaboard (including Tasmania via the Basslink Interconnector). These connected states make up the National Energy Market, otherwise known as the "Australian Energy Market Operator" The Northern Territory and Western Australia are not involved in the NEM because of the long transmission distances involved.

The National Energy Market partly operates much like a stock market, where power is continually bought and sold at fluctuating prices (this is called "the pool"), and partly operates according to fixed contracts, where a set price and supply period are agreed on by the generators and buyers (these are called "hedging contracts"). http://www.aemo.com.au