Power uncertainty
Episode 61, Jun 15, 2022, 12:00 AM
Power uncertainty spread across five states on Tuesday, with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) warning of possible power interruptions.
Market notices published on the AEMO website warned of maximum power load interruptions in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
This was forecast to impact Queensland from 5pm until 10:30pm and NSW from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, with further interruptions possible on Wednesday.
Potential power interruptions were forecast for Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria on Wednesday evening — but the notices relating to South Australia and Tasmania were cancelled later on Tuesday.
AEMO also released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying supply shortfalls in NSW and Queensland would be met following discussions with governments, industry and generation owners.
"Discussions with scheduled generators indicate an estimate of approximately 2,000 megawatts of generation in each of Queensland and New South Wales, which hasn't bid into the market, can be directed by AEMO to be available to help meet forecast electricity shortfalls this evening," AEMO said.t
It also said it would encourage generators to bid their availability into the market in order to avoid supply shortages on Wednesday.
Similar warnings from AEMO for Queensland on Monday afternoon were followed by another statement explaining that a market response demanded under National Electricity Rules had meant potential blackouts were avoided.
The cost of power has been rising so rapidly that AEMO stepped in to place a cap on the wholesale price of electricity in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
AEMO set the price cap for consumers at $300 a megawatt hour.
"As a consequence, available offers from generators reduced, contributing to a forecast supply shortfall," AEMO said on Monday.
Australian Energy Council chief executive Sarah McNamara said while the power crunch would ease eventually, there was no immediate solution in sight.
"One of the issues in the market is that a number of coal plants have had outages on the east coast of Australia, for unplanned maintenance," Ms McNamara said.
"Once they come back online in the next couple of months that should improve supply somewhat."
Alinta Energy executive director Daniel McClelland said power customers should be prepared to face higher prices.
"If we're going to be honest about this, it looks like these higher prices are going to persist for the next two years, if you look at what's happening elsewhere in the world," he said.
Andrew Stock from the Climate Council said Victoria and SA were better placed to weather any power shortfall because of the state's push towards renewable energy sources.
"Fortunately, some of the states like Victoria and South Australia have been getting on with it anyway and they are reaping some of the benefits, and now Queensland and New South Wales are playing catch-up as fast as they can," Mr Stock said.
Market notices published on the AEMO website warned of maximum power load interruptions in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
This was forecast to impact Queensland from 5pm until 10:30pm and NSW from 5:30pm to 10:30pm, with further interruptions possible on Wednesday.
Potential power interruptions were forecast for Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria on Wednesday evening — but the notices relating to South Australia and Tasmania were cancelled later on Tuesday.
AEMO also released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying supply shortfalls in NSW and Queensland would be met following discussions with governments, industry and generation owners.
"Discussions with scheduled generators indicate an estimate of approximately 2,000 megawatts of generation in each of Queensland and New South Wales, which hasn't bid into the market, can be directed by AEMO to be available to help meet forecast electricity shortfalls this evening," AEMO said.t
It also said it would encourage generators to bid their availability into the market in order to avoid supply shortages on Wednesday.
Similar warnings from AEMO for Queensland on Monday afternoon were followed by another statement explaining that a market response demanded under National Electricity Rules had meant potential blackouts were avoided.
The cost of power has been rising so rapidly that AEMO stepped in to place a cap on the wholesale price of electricity in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
AEMO set the price cap for consumers at $300 a megawatt hour.
"As a consequence, available offers from generators reduced, contributing to a forecast supply shortfall," AEMO said on Monday.
Australian Energy Council chief executive Sarah McNamara said while the power crunch would ease eventually, there was no immediate solution in sight.
"One of the issues in the market is that a number of coal plants have had outages on the east coast of Australia, for unplanned maintenance," Ms McNamara said.
"Once they come back online in the next couple of months that should improve supply somewhat."
Alinta Energy executive director Daniel McClelland said power customers should be prepared to face higher prices.
"If we're going to be honest about this, it looks like these higher prices are going to persist for the next two years, if you look at what's happening elsewhere in the world," he said.
Andrew Stock from the Climate Council said Victoria and SA were better placed to weather any power shortfall because of the state's push towards renewable energy sources.
"Fortunately, some of the states like Victoria and South Australia have been getting on with it anyway and they are reaping some of the benefits, and now Queensland and New South Wales are playing catch-up as fast as they can," Mr Stock said.