Between 6 pm and 8 pm, the lights are turned off for families in New South Wales, the Australian state that also includes the country’s largest city, Sydney. Australia’s Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, urges 8 million compatriots to do so. The government wants to tackle the energy crisis in this way and is making sure that there will be no power cuts.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen believes that from now on residents of New South Wales should not use electricity for two hours in the evening. “If you have a choice when to let certain things run, don’t do it between 6 and 8 p.m.,” he said on television. His demand to save as much electricity as possible comes after the Australian energy market was severely disrupted by the sharply increased energy prices. Down Under winter is coming.
Australia still generates three quarters of its electricity from coal, something the country has long been under fire for. The Aussies are investing far too little in renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions, has been criticized. The country is one of the largest exporters of coal and liquefied gas in the world, but has been struggling with a power crisis since last month.
Australia’s coal supply has been disrupted by technical problems at two major mines. In addition, several coal-fired power stations in New South Wales and Queensland were shut down due to flooding earlier this year. And then there are the rising energy prices worldwide due to the Russian war in Ukraine. They have also felt the impact of this Down Under in recent weeks.
Market suspended
Due to the unexpected breakdowns and planned maintenance, about a quarter of the capacity of the electricity generated from coal is currently unavailable. That while the demand for power has increased due to the cold in Australia, where it is now winter, and because the economy is starting again after the corona crisis.
Due to rising energy prices, the Australian energy regulator AEMO (Australian Energy Market Operator) introduced a cap of 300 AUD (200 euros) per megawatt hour. This prevented some producers from putting energy on the grid, because the production price for them was higher than the ceiling price. On Wednesday, AEMO decided to suspend the market. That never happened before. The grid operator determines the price itself for the time being and will compensate the producers for the loss. It is unknown how long the suspension will last. In a statement, AEMO says the energy price ceiling will remain in place until cumulative electricity prices fall below the threshold again.
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