Once an asset is generating, the question becomes how its output is sold. The National Electricity Market settles in five-minute dispatch intervals, with prices that swing from negative in the solar-soaked middle of the day to extreme highs during evening peaks and supply scarcity.
Capturing value in that environment is an active discipline. Meridian provides the trading, forecasting and dispatch capability to move your energy into the market at the right time and through the right mechanism, rather than leaving it to a flat, take-it-or-leave-it tariff.
Wholesale exposure or contracted price
The first decision is how much wholesale exposure suits your appetite. Selling directly into the spot market captures the upside of price spikes but carries volatility; a contracted offtake or power purchase agreement trades some of that upside for certainty.
We structure the right blend - hedged where you need predictable revenue, exposed where the asset's profile can profitably ride the market - and act as your agent or arrange the retailer relationship that sits behind it.
Dispatch and arbitrage
For assets with storage or flexible load, the real money is in timing. Charging when prices are low or negative and discharging into the evening peak is straightforward arbitrage, but doing it well requires accurate price forecasting and disciplined dispatch against five-minute settlement.
- Spot market bidding and offer management
- Price forecasting and dispatch scheduling
- Battery charge and discharge arbitrage
- Hedging and power purchase agreement structuring
We run the bidding and dispatch logic so the asset responds to the market automatically, capturing arbitrage spreads that a static export arrangement would simply give away.
Frequency control ancillary services
Energy is not the only product the market pays for. AEMO procures Frequency Control Ancillary Services to keep the grid balanced, and fast-responding assets - particularly batteries - can earn meaningful revenue providing both raise and lower services.
Stacking FCAS revenue on top of energy arbitrage materially improves an asset's returns. We register and co-optimise across these markets so your plant earns from whichever product is most valuable at any given interval.
Acting as your market agent
Participating in the NEM directly carries registration, prudential and operational obligations that few asset owners want to take on. Meridian carries that role for you - managing the market interface, the settlement and the risk controls - so you receive optimised revenue without standing up a trading desk of your own.
Frequently asked
No. We can contract a fixed or floor price through an offtake or power purchase agreement, or blend contracted and exposed volume to match the risk you are comfortable carrying.
Frequency Control Ancillary Services keep grid frequency stable, and AEMO pays for them. Fast assets such as batteries can earn FCAS revenue alongside energy sales, often improving overall returns.
Not if we act as your agent. We carry the market participation, settlement and prudential obligations so you capture the trading upside without the regulatory overhead.