Warning over power grid once Eraring, nation’s largest coal station closes

The Opposition says Energy Minister Chris Bowen has “completely ended up with egg on his face” over the electricity transition after a fresh warning that the east coast grid isn’t prepared for the retirement of the nation’s largest coal-fired power station.

An Australian Energy Market Operator report on the plan to transition while maintaining security of the power system warns that the proposal to replace the Eraring power station may not be ready before its scheduled retirement in December 2027.

The NSW Government is helping Transgrid buy synchronous condensers, which are used to stabilise the power supplied by renewables into the grid.

But AEMO head Daniel Westerman said there was a risk they wouldn’t be ready fast enough, potentially meaning large blackouts in years to come.

“These are big spinning machines on the grid that really keep a stable heartbeat, and they need to be in place before the closure of major coal-fired power stations,” he told ABC radio.

“As it stands today – and AEMO has been flagging the need for investment in these big spinning machines in each year since 2021 – the currently installed date of those synchronous condensers is after the retirement date of Eraring as it’s currently announced.”

However, he said that was “not new news” and that the NSW government, power company Origin and transmission company Transgrid were “working together very collaboratively to make sure that there is no disruption to electricity consumers”.

Shadow energy minister Dan Tehan said the AEMO warning meant the energy transition wasn’t working.

“Chris Bowen has completely ended up with egg on his face. His transition is failing,” Mr Tehan told Sky News.

“He’s wanted coal out of the system as quickly as he possibly could get it, and now we find out that we actually are going to need coal for longer.

“If you don’t have those synchronisers in place, then you need coal and you need gas.”

Cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek said the NSW Government was “right across” the job of grid stabilisation and was trying to speed it up.

“Of course, it would have been better if this process had started 10 years ago when the Liberals and Nationals were first warned that 24 out of 28 coal-fired power stations were closing,” she said.

Barnaby Joyce – a senior member of the previous government but now a newly minted independent – said the Coalition had made a mistake in not building new coal-fired power stations.