Recapping developments with NEMreview during 2020

It’s been a busy year for us in 2020* … and that has included developments with respect to NEMreview v7:

*  see the fuller note here on the company website for more details of the range of activities undertaken through the year.

Here’s a brief summary:

NEMreview v6

Installed Software
(a new version released in 2020)

NEMreview v7

Online Software
(development continues on several fronts)

That’s taking some time to develop (and we’re ok with that, because it helps us make the software better than rushing for a particular deadline).

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During 2020, we built an upgrade to the v6 installed software which we made available as follows:

NEMreview v6.4.28 Client Installer for Office 64-bit
(i.e. if you have 64-bit version of MS Access drivers installed, which will be the case for many clients

NEMreview v6.4.28 Client Installer for Office 32-bit
(i.e. if you have 32-bit version of MS Access drivers installed) 

Note that there are two versions, and you need to choose the right one to match the version of Microsoft Office you have installed. It may well be the 64-bit version but, if the installer tells you that this is incorrect don’t continue, but instead choose the 32-bit version.

This version contains a few bug fixes – including:
(a)   With international settings (given an increasing number of users running NEMreview in different locations across the world).
(b)   The ‘Chronological Sub-Series’ now has better options selection.

Remember that v6 clients have been given early access to the pre-release beta of v7 here:

https://app.NEMreview.info

… just create an account, unique to you, with your organisational email address to access.

Because your organisation’s licence is linked to the organisation’s email domain, ‘personal’ addresses (like Gmail, Yahoo, Bigpond and so on) won’t work.

Developments in NEMreview v7 continue on several fronts.  These developments are taking some time, and we’re OK with that:
1)  We’re focused on making the software better, rather than rushing for some arbitrary deadline.
2)  The feedback we receive from the many who use NEMreview v7 already helps us with that!

Some of the developments on the go throughout 2020, which are feeding into the NEMreview v7 process, were as follows:

Initiative #1)  Progress on ‘Metrics’

Initiative #2)  Expanding the Scope of Use

Initiative #3)  Expanding the ‘Generator Catalog’

 

Expanding on three of the version 7 development initiatives below:

v7 Dev Initiative #1) Progress on ‘Metrics’

We’re using the term ‘Metrics’ to describe derived data series that are derived from raw data series published by AEMO or others.

In NEMreview v6 we provided some limited functionality in this respect (any of the italicised columns were derived, as discussed in this v6 list here).

… but the potential is that this could be a whole lot more.  That’s why we have been investing considerable time to explore what’s actually required:

Step 1 = A big part of this exploration was in the development of the Generator Report Card 2018, that we released on 31st May 2019.

Step 2 = The insights we developed there (in terms of Metrics that were of good value) we refined with the follow-on Generator Statistical Digest 2019 (released 28th January 2020).

2a)  This process will be repeated in a few days for the Generator Statistical Digest 2020.

2b)  Worth noting (for readers who are interested) the opportunity, only for a couple more weeks (until GSD2020 is released) to save when pre-ordering your copy of the electronic PDF of the GSD2020.

Step 3 = through 2020 we have been investing time to develop a mechanism that will enable:

3a)  Metrics like these to be produced on an ongoing basis; and

3b)  Made available to clients in a data selection method.

There is much still to do here, but we’re pleased to have made the progress we have.

As you know, we have development underway to transition from v6 (installed) to v7 (online) for several reasons, with a big one being that it will enable us to provide access to a much broader set of data than in v6:

v7 Dev Initiative #2)  Expanding the Scope of Use

The list of derived data sets we’re working to add into NEMreview v7 is on top of the already large and growing set of raw data sets that are available:

1)   There’s a range of data published by the AEMO for the NEM; but there is also

2)  A range of data published by AEMO for the WEM (a market that covers the South-West Interconnected System of WA); and

3)  Approximately 13 years of historical BOM readings for close to 1,000 weather measurement points across Australia; and

4)  LGC registration data, from the Clean Energy Regulator; and

5)  End-of-day Price, Volume and Open Interest of each of the Base, Peak and Cap electricity futures contracts with data from ASX Energy; and

6)  A daily spot LGC price from Green Energy Trading.

In total there are something like 36,000 data series to choose from currently … and this will grow further (by several times) by the time we are finished with NEMreview v7.

With this data, there are several usage models we are aiming to deliver for you:

Usage Mode
for the software
Description
Something more?
Usage Mode #1)
What happened yesterday (or last week) etc…
For many months, users have been able to use NEMreview v7 to complete this kind of process.

You’ll find artefacts created with this type of functionality scattered through WattClarity® articles, for instance.

Usage Mode #2)
Monthly Averages (or Minimums etc) over many years
As a user of NEMreview v7, you have also been able to complete this type of process for many months.  This capability stretches as far back as data is available (it’s different for different data sets, but worth noting that the NEM began at the end of 1998).

You’ll also find examples of this type of analysis in WattClarity® articles.

Usage Mode #3)
Accessing a broad range of data
As a user you might have bumped into a ‘20,000 data point limit’ in your use of the software.

Late in 2020 this limitation was lifted, following some work done in conjunction with the work we’re doing on the Metrics Engine (discussed above).  This will enable users to chart more than that number of data points in NEMreview v7 online.

Keen to hear your feedback, if you’ve noticed that this improves your experience with NEMreview.

Usage Mode #4)
Database replication
Somewhat related to the above, we have also heard from a handful of others who had in mind doing something along the lines of essentially using our NEMreview service

At this point this type of ‘database replication’ function is not something we envisage delivering with the NEMreview service.

———————-

We do, however, have a number of other clients for whom we provide an MMS replication service (to a managed MMS we maintain exclusively for them in an Azure Data Center close to where they are located).

Let us know if this would be of interest to you?

There are other usage models that we have identified, and are exploring for possible inclusion as well.

v7 Dev Initiative #3)  Expanding the ‘Generator Catalog’

Behind NEMreview v6 there is a Generator Catalog that is installed with the application, but updated remotely.

The Generator Catalog in v6 is used for two main purposes:

Use #1 = in order to make the Metrics (like spot revenue) work there are a range of meta data points for all data sets that we source and maintain; and

Use #2 = in order to make some of the Aggregations function (e.g. by Fuel Type or by Bidder) we maintain some linkages to these types of identifiers.

The way in which we have been updating this has worked historically, but is increasingly challenged as the pace of development changes (i.e. many new stations) and as we continue expanding the scope of version 7 …

… for instance, the AEMO and the Clean Energy Regulator name stations differently.  Hence if we want clients to be able to select

So we have commenced a process to pull the Generator Catalog out into the cloud … which we did in a first effort where we called it simply ‘Generator Catalog’, but more recently have been making it more broadly focused:

1)   On different types of assets as an ‘Asset Catalog’.

2)   On a much broader set of functionality than provided in the ‘Generator Catalog’ within NEMreview v6.

You should already have access to this as part of your licence to NEMreview:

3A)  Logging into the Asset Catalog

You should be able to access this product with the new login access you have created with your specific organisational email address:

https://assets.global-roam.com/

It should be the same account you have already created to access NEMreview (and possibly to download the GRC2018 and GSD2019 as well).

There’s much more we plan to do in broadening the scope of the data contained within the product, but we would first like to ensure that even the smaller scope delivers value as a product (limited to the data it currently provides) to you. Hence:

1) Whilst we’re interested in understanding your Vision of how this might progress to deliver value  – such as:

(a) to incorporate the value included in ‘Generator Catalog’ from NEMreview v6; and

(b) to incorporate some of the meta data assembled for the GRC2018 and GSD2019;

(c) Etc…

2) We’re particularly interested, now, in understanding what we need to do to ensure the smaller-scope product already delivers value to you?

3B) A weekly ‘Asset News Update’

Keep an eye out, also, for a Friday afternoon ‘News Update’ to link you through to Asset News published this week, and which has been tagged into the Asset Catalog. Did we miss any?

At the current time it’s being sent from feedback@global-roam.com, so you might want to white-list that email address.

 

That’s all we have time for, today, in this end-of-2020 update…