Insights

Analysis and commentary on grid congestion, curtailment, and the NEM.

6 Sept 2026

Charge curtailment: The emerging risk for batteries in the NEM

Australia's battery fleet is rapidly expanding, but a new risk is emerging alongside it: charge curtailment. GridScout analysis shows Koorangie BESS in North West Victoria recorded the NEM's highest level of charge curtailment in FY25/26, being greatest around midday in summer, precisely when power is cheapest and the opportunity to charge is optimal. As more batteries connect to already congested parts of the network, understanding charge curtailment is becoming essential to protecting the commercial value of storage.

Joel Bulow

Co-founder

6 min read

CurtailmentNEM

16 Apr 2025

The hidden costs of low curtailment

In 2025, wind farms in the Bannaby to Yass corridor reported network curtailment rates of just 1–2%, yet merchant revenue losses reached up to 13%. The gap exists because curtailment in this corridor clusters in high-price periods driven by network outages, meaning the lost energy carries disproportionate value. It is a pattern that exposes the limits of headline curtailment metrics and carries direct implications for how developers select connection points and how offtakers price risk.

Joel Bulow

Co-founder

8 min read