Charts and dashboards

Settlement price trends

Use this report to see how prices for exchange‑traded electricity contracts change over time.

  • Prices
  • Futures
  • Forward markets

What is a settlement price?

A settlement price is the official price set for each contract at the end of every trading day. It is calculated even if no trades happened for that contract on that day. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) uses a standard process to calculate these prices.

The Electricity Authority receives this data from the ASX after trading closes each day.

The chart below shows trends in settlement prices for New Zealand electricity futures and options that are traded on the ASX.

What contracts are included?

The chart includes New Zealand electricity futures and options contracts traded on the ASX. These contracts vary by:

  • time period (duration)
  • commodity type
  • expiry date.

You can use the filters to select specific contract maturities and series.

Contract durations

Contracts are defined over different time periods:

  • Monthly contracts - Introduced at the start of each quarter for the next two quarters ahead. They can be traded until they expire.
  • Quarterly contracts - Introduced on the first trading day of the fourth quarter for all quarters in the year four years ahead. They can be traded up to expiry.
  • Calendar‑year strips - A strip is a bundle of four quarterly contracts covering one calendar year. Strips are introduced at the start of the fourth quarter for the year four years ahead and can be traded until the end of the first quarter of their expiry year.

Commodity types

There are two types of electricity contracts:

  • Baseload - Covers a consistent amount of electricity (0.1 megawatts per hour) for every hour of the contract period.
  • Peak - Only available for quarterly contracts. Covers 0.1 megawatts per hour during peak times, between 7.00am and 10.00pm on business days, for the contract period.

Maturity and expiry

Each contract has a set maturity (expiry) date, based on its duration and commodity type. Contracts can be traded from when they are introduced until they expire.

Notes

  1. The report shows the trend in the settlement prices of exchange-traded instruments, specifically New Zealand electricity futures and options contracts traded on the ASX platform
  2. A settlement price is determined for each contract at the end of every trading day, regardless of whether any trades for the particular contract occur. You can view the process for determining the daily settlement price. The Authority acquires ASX data on a subscription basis and receives it following the close of trade each day. You can view a complete description of contract specification terms, including reference locations, units, commodity types, and contract durations.
  3. The maturity and series filter parameters enables specific contract maturities to be selected.
  4. Duration refers to the time period over which futures and options contracts are defined. Currently used durations are monthly, quarterly, or calendar-year strips. Monthly contracts are introduced at the beginning of each quarter for the two quarters ahead. Quarterly contracts for all quarters in a year are introduced on the first trading day of the fourth quarter for the quarters of the year four years ahead. Monthly and quarterly contracts may be traded from the time they are introduced until they expire. Strips contain a strip of four quarterly contracts covering one calendar year. They are introduced at the beginning of the fourth quarter for the year four years ahead, and may be traded up until the end of the first quarter in their year of expiration.
  5. Commodity types are baseload and peak. Baseload commodities refer to 0.1MW of electrical energy per hour for every hour of the contract's duration. Peak commodities only exist for quarterly durations and refer to 0.1MW of electrical energy per hour for all hours between 7.00am and 10.00pm on each business day within the contract's duration.
  6. Maturity or expiry dates apply for all individual contracts for each instrument, commodity type and duration.