Blackouts possible in NSW and Qld tonight, energy market regulator warns
Australia’s energy market regulator has warned of power supply reserve shortfalls in Queensland and NSW between 5pm and 9pm today.
The Australian Electricity Market Operator has issued notices to encourage more power generation and directing generators into the market but if those measures are not sufficient, then blackouts in some areas are possible as a last resort.
In a statement this morning, the market operator said price caps were in place in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia because soaring wholesale electricity prices had breached a threshold.
“As a consequence, some generators revised their market availability in New South Wales and Queensland for today,” the market operator said.
“This has contributed to forecast supply shortfalls, along with generation units being offline for planned maintenance and repairs.
“Supply reserve shortfalls (lack of reserve 2 and 3) are currently forecast in Queensland and New South Wales this evening (approximately 5pm to 9pm).“
A lack of reserve 3 means that there are “no reserve supplies available” and “controlled load shedding may be required as a last resort to protect system security and prevent long-term damage to system infrastructure”.
Load shedding is where power companies reduce their consumption by shutting off supplies to some customers.
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