Like most institutions, especially government-funded ones, the Australian Energy Market Operator has been thoroughly captured by the Long March left. Especially of the Climate Cult variety. Instead of going into bat to deliver Australians cheap, reliable electricity, AEMO has, like the left-wing white woman swooning ‘refugees welcome’, consistently pushed policies that only leave Australians energy impoverished and struggling to pay bills. When, as they did in South Australia in 2016, ‘renewables’ cause system-wide blackouts, AEMO can be relied on to do their level-best to bury the truth.
So, when AEMO is warning that, without reliable, coal-fired power, widespread blackouts are likely in the summer months, it tells us that the situation is dire indeed. Even if AEMO is a monstrous hypocrite.
Australia’s energy market operator has warned that NSW could face frequent and costly government intervention to keep the lights on if the state’s largest coal plant closes before critical grid-support equipment is installed – a projection that strengthens the case for extending the life of the Eraring power station beyond 2027.
This, from the same AEMO that has consistently pushed policies that have forced coal station closures and made necessary maintenance of the remaining stations too expensive to keep up. In other words, AEMO’s and governments’ meddling is destroying the grid – so AEMO demands more government meddling to fix it.
The loud part they’re not saying is that this is all about demanding more government intervention (translation: taxpayer’s money) to subsidise the ‘renewables’ madness that is the root of all our energy problems.
In a sweeping assessment of system security, the Australian Energy Market Operator said delays to essential infrastructure projects – including synchronous condensers, grid reinforcements and grid-forming batteries – threaten to leave the east coast power system without enough tools to keep the grid stable in real time. Without a rapid acceleration of investment, AEMO cautioned it will be forced to lean more heavily on expensive fossil-fuel generators, driving up costs for households and businesses.
“A rapid acceleration of investment”: aaaaannndddd… there it is. Money, money, money! Give us more of that sweet, sweet, taxpayer money!
The mess they’ve helped create is so bad that AEMO is having to make complete hypocrites of themselves.
If that occurs, AEMO warns it may need to intervene in the market as much as 30 per cent of the time, compelling coal and gas units to run even when cheaper renewable energy is available. Such a level of intervention would impose “substantial cost” on consumers and heighten the risk of cascading failures across the grid.
The prospect of sustained intervention will add to pressure on the NSW government and Origin to maintain Eraring’s operations. Under current plans the plant is due to close in 2027, though Origin retains the option of running it through to 2029 if it remains profitable.
So, AEMO has distorted the market to make coal more expensive than it should be, in an ideological crusade against reliable power. But now that distorted market is wrecking the grid, so AEMO is threatening to distort the market even more, lest the whole grid comes crashing down.
And taxpayers and consumers are going to have to pay for it.
The warning reflects a shift in emphasis from AEMO. While the operator has long argued for a dramatic increase in large-scale wind and solar, it is increasingly alarmed about the state of energy system security — the technical backbone that keeps the grid functioning even when supply is plentiful.
Reliability depends on having enough generation to meet demand. Security, however, hinges on the physical properties of the system — inertia, frequency control and system strength – that have historically been supplied by synchronised energy sources such as coal, gas and hydro. As those plants retire, the grid must rapidly replace their stabilising functions with technologies like big batteries and advanced inverters. Without them, AEMO warns, the system may have enough energy on paper but could become dangerously unstable in practice.
Recent overseas failures illustrate what is at stake. In April, a widespread blackout in Portugal and Spain cut power to millions, disrupted telecommunications and transport networks, and was linked to seven deaths.
Long story short: AEMO is an unmitigated disaster for Australia’s energy infrastructure.
