- In short: A meltdown in the NSW electricity market has prompted warnings that Australia’s energy transition is off course.
- Sustained extraordinary costs earlier in the month forced the market operator to step in and cap prices in NSW.
- What’s next? A huge NSW coal plant will be kept online longer but there are worries about a shortage of new capacity.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
During a week in which NSW agreed to extend the life of the state’s biggest coal plant, Alinta boss Jeff Dimery cited dramatic events in the market earlier in the month to argue the system was in distress.
One of the affected plants was the giant Eraring power station, which the Minns government this week announced would be kept open until 2027, two years later than planned by its private owners, Origin Energy.
Paul McArdle from market analysis firm Global Roam said the coal outages coincided with relatively calm conditions, which meant output from wind farms was lower than normal.
Mr Dimery, speaking at an oil and gas industry conference in Perth this week, said the intervention by AEMO was a portent of the disruptions to come if Australia failed to properly handle the switch away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
The Origin chief said the volume of gas that would need to be burnt for electricity in Australia would continue to fall in future as more and more renewable energy was added to the system.
News that the NSW government would keep Eraring alive for longer drew mixed reactions this week, with workers and energy users celebrating the announcement.
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