Electric Power Uncertainty !

Summer is nearly upon us and the big question is whether we will be able to keep the lights on when those very hot days arrive.  We are still reliant on ageing coal burning electrical generating plants to shoulder the base load and the Snowy upgrade is still years in the future.

It seems that solar and wind generation can carry the load during daylight hours but a question remains over what happens when the sun goes down and those oppressive hot nights get people switching on their air conditioners.   The sale and installation of air conditioning is probably the biggest ticket sales item flowing out the doors of electrical item showrooms since we started breaking heat records.

Since electricity passed into private hands we have had a continuing battle with commercial interests over the replacement of ageing power stations.  Their primary need is to make a profit and deliver to their shareholders and this contrasts with the government's need for reliability.  In this state, the closure of Liddell power stations contribution of 1680 megawatts to the state grid will be decisive in reliability.  Closure is planned for 2023 and there is doubt as to whether it can maintain full capacity as its machinery deteriorates.

Liddell is owned by the giant AGL corporation and a deal has finally been struck to build a series of batteries to  contribute enough power to serve thirty thousand NSW households.   This is similar to the battery deal that saved South Australia from rolling blackouts but the problem is that construction of each of these four batteries will not be completed until just before Liddell closes in 2023.

One of the main problems is that electricity generation is a state responsibility and yet the reliability solution is an integrated power grid connecting the states so that overload can be shared.  States generating more than their needs can feed in power to where an overload is threatening.  The weather conditions are never constant across the entire Australian continent.

Creating a national power grid would mean connecting the states with a reliable high tension cabling network - and that would be a high cost operation.  Individual costs would vary because of the discrepancy of state sizes and the only authority capable of integrating such a scheme would be the Federal government, and that seems loath to get too involved in what it sees as a state problem.

Its high time that electrical power was moved out of the state orbit and became a national responsibility.  We have a mix of old coal powered electricity generators that need replacement and eventually we will need to face the question of nuclear generation.  That is the only way base load can be met if we intend to keep our commitment to a  cooler planet.

We are at risk of losing our first world status.   The very idea of rolling blackouts is a misery that afflicts third world countries and having it happen here is unimaginable.   It would be a very brave politician who would promise that the lights will continue to shine brightly during this coming summer - and if they don't there will be an inevitable backlash at the ballot box.

The standard of living in Australia depends on electricity flowing on a twenty-four hour basis  !