Another head lopped off. Wonder where the next one will spontaneously spring up…
It looks like Labour is finally getting it’s wish of not only keeping it’s supporters in the dark but everyone else as well. Shameful:
VICTORIANS will need costly emergency energy supplies — likely to include diesel generators — to avoid a risk of widespread blackouts this summer.
CALL FOR STATE GOVERNMENT TO BUY HAZELWOOD POWER STATION
TAXPAYERS TO SHELL OUT $350M FOR ANDREWS’ ENERGY PLAN
HOUSEHOLDS CRIPPLED BY UTILITY DEBTS AS HIGH AS $18K
Australian’s energy market operator has warned the state will be in a dire situation if it faces an extreme summer, and says urgent action is needed to ensure supply for household airconditioners and lights.
The recent closure of Hazelwood power station has led to a “tight” supply and demand balance in the national electricity market, which is more vulnerable than ever to the loss of output.
The worst-case scenario could include load-shedding — an intentional rolling shutdown of power sources to reduce demand — which could last four to five hours. And the cost of using emergency supplies would be passed on to consumers in the state which needs to call on them.
A report to the Federal Government, released on Wednesday, has also called for the creation of emergency reserves of energy over the next four years to avoid electricity shortfalls.
The recent closure of Hazelwood power station has led to a ‘tight’ supply and demand balance in the national electricity market. Picture: AAP
This year, the highest risk is in Victoria and South Australia. But Victoria and NSW will also need to generate 1000 megawatts of new supply when the Liddell coal-fired power plant in NSW shuts in 2022.
The Australian Energy Market Operator confirmed it is working with Victoria’s government on connecting diesel generators, and on alternative measures, for this summer.
It has recommended the immediate creation of a short-term strategic reserve of energy — sourced from outside the current grid — to ensure supply security before new wind, solar and hydro-electric projects come on line.
The report could also halt a push from within the Turnbull government to invest in a new coal power station, warning it would be better if owners of coal-fired generators were encouraged to upgrade their plants to extend their lives.
It said the business model of traditional forms of baseload power — such as coal — would be further challenged by the emergence of battery technology and the falling cost of renewable sources.
“The power system does not have the reserves it once had, and therefore to balance peak summer demand in real time, actions to provide additional firming capability are necessary to reduce heightened risks to supply,” AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman said.
AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the federal government was in talks with AGL to keep Liddell open for an extra five years despite its chief executive Andy Vessey’s ruling out any delay to the closure.
He said the electricity market was vulnerable because of “Labor mismanagement”, particularly in Victoria and South Australia, which must now take costly back-up measures.
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the report reinforced federal actions to secure the energy system, saying: “The Turnbull government will leave no stone unturned to ensure affordable and reliable power for all Australians.”
But state Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio blamed a lack of a national energy policy for “crippling investment and putting pressure on power prices”.
“Our renewable energy target, and investment in battery storage and energy efficiency, are … ensuring we have enough power,” she said.
Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg. Picture: AAP
ENERGY CRISIS
VICTORIA and South Australia are at risk of blackouts this summer during hot days
ABOUT 1000 megawatts of emergency reserves are needed this summer — through diesel generators and by forcing businesses onto private backup supplies
RISK of blackouts to decline from 2018-2019 to 2020-2021, provided no current generators are closed
ALTERNATE reserves of energy needed — either from mothballed gas plants or though paying businesses to feed privately generated power into the grid
CONSUMERS who draw on emergency supply faced with increased bills
RETIREMENT of Liddell coal-fired power station in 2022 will increase the risk of blackouts in Victoria and New South Wales
1000MW of new energy supply needed in grid after 2022
Yep, it looks like the federal govts refusal to take energy policy seriously and meaningfully deal with the obsolescence of the coal fired generation capacity is coming home to bite. They’ve known for years that these plants are at the end of their lives and were were going to close, but did nothing because if they did something they’d have to face up to the fact that new coal-fired capacity is not economically competitive with renewables any more, and they simply don’t have the intellectual integrity or moral courage to do that.
Lucky we’ve got all this rooftop solar generation capacity though, cos it generates the most in the middle of summer exactly when we need it. We’d be stuffed without it. Thank god for renewables, hey?
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Haha. Who is making these calls? The same people who led the charge when boofhead Kennett flogged off the State’s assets to his mates?
Seems to me this is yet another failure of the “the market is always right” crowd.
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Yeah it’s certainly working for SA. Not! As I mentioned, in the dark!
Probably the same people that have seen the results of similar disastrous closures in SA.
Well Mr Wolf both in SA and Victoria; power generation was sold off by their State Governments to private operators. In your capitalist free market economy, these Governments (namely Premiers Olsen and Kennett) have given up responsibility to provide power, obviously backed by the Voter.
You often get what you wish for, unfortunately.
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I did not wish for them to be sold off and did not / do not agree with the policy.
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In Tasmania the people voted against the sale of the Hydro.
got Jim Bacon into power.
but then they split up the Hydro anyway to Aurora - transcend, etc.
I think Generally the people would have liked to keep government assets - e.g Banks, electricity generation, postal service etc
Yeah, SA has been really badly impacted by poor federal govt energy policy. First there’s insufficient investment in national grid infrastructure, so surplus generation capacity can’t be efficiently used across state borders. Then they handle the market poorly, setting very slow 30 minute response times which artificially favours unreliable gas generation capacity, like the plant that caused last year’s SA blackouts. Then, to make things worse, they fail to monitor the gas market, which leads to Australians paying through the nose for gas while we export it Japan for a pittance.
Lucky renewable power is so cheap, rooftop solar especially. It’s the only thing keeping power prices down in SA, in peak season especially.
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Well I didn’t either but that is what you get with democracy.
Don’t see how you can blame the current State Governments when they do not own the assets, and the Voters agreed to sell it all off.
Now perhaps Federal and State Governments could fully subsidise every home owner to have solar panel and a wind turbine on their roof, and make it all fully tax deductable as well.
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What planet do you live on?
If renewables are cheaper than coal we can drop all subsidies and I would love to see that.
In case your reading comprehension is at 1st grade level and you missed it, Andrews, is sweetening the next tender for renewables with $250-$350 million.
Why would he do that if renewables are competitive?
And for Bacchusfox, Kennett didn’t blow up 2 power stations or tax another out of business.
With closure of Port Augusta and Hazelwood and the planned end of life closures at Erariring, Bayswater, Liddell, Vales Point and Yallourn W will have reduced Australia’s generating capacity by 39% or 12,130 Mw.
Couple that with a fast increasing population and another June like lull in the wind i would like you to inform me without your usual dismissive smartarse remarks of exactly how many wind turbines, solar plants and batteries we are going to need to meet that demand, and don’t forget to allow for all those new electric cars.
The next 2 or 3 years is where ideology meets reality.
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I’m glad you agree with me, sorfed. We’re entirely on the same page that the enormous subsidies that fossil fuel companies (from r&d tax writeoffs for exploation, to govt funded rail lines and other infrastructure to service their mines and generation stations, to many other things) receive distort the market appallingly. So like you, I applaud the Vic govts move to apply a compensation amount to the new power auction. Given the govt currently subsidises fossil fuel generation hugely by allowing it to dump its destructive waste products into the atmosphere for free, this can only result in the auction being somewhat fairer.
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So what do you expect Government to do?
Power Generation is privately owned in SA and Victoria. Get your Capitalist mates to build some new generating infrastructure
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exactly this is a failure of the capitalist market that the Tories have been w@nking over for decades.
They have squandered billions of taxpayers money but nevertheless want to screw us over for more.
But because the media are controlled by the likes of Mrdoch, all the farkwits out there will keep voting in these corrupt Rsoles.
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Again the usual dismissive smartarse remark, what company in its right mind would invest in a state that has publicly stated NO MORE COAL and has banned the exploration for gas both at sea and on land and who at the drop of the hat triples royalties on existing deposits. Directors of public companies answer to the investors not to a wanker intent on saving the planet from a non-existent threat while India and China continue to build thousands of coal fired plants.
Rare earth refinery in Baotou Mongolia, product used for magnets in wind turbines and iPhones.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Hypocrites.
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And here I was hoping for your funeral notice.
Energy Companies are investing in renewable energy because it makes money. And thank that non-existent God that my Chinese Comrades and Indian Brothers are still utilising coal. We have invested a great deal of time and money in our equipment for the coal mining industry.
Stiff ■■■■. I’m hard to kill.
I bet you were protesting against your Indian Brothers when they wanted to open the Adani mine.
Energy Companies are investing in renewable energy because it takes money from taxpayers.
As Warren Buffett the worlds biggest capitalist and massive investor in renewables said:
Without subsidies renewables make no sense.
i thought you may have had an opinion on the manipulation of temperatures by the BOM at Goulburn on the 2nd July.
Global Warming my ■■■■.
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How’s the coal industry going without tax payer money?
Coal companies are actually enjoying good margins at the moment.
Export thermal coal prices are pretty good, and you can see that in the WHC share price.
Domestic coal-to-powergen margins are wide, as all the survivors benefit from the market tightness post Hazelwood’s closure. You can see this, over probably the last year, in the AGL share price.
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