Confusion as BHP, SA Health issue ‘unwarranted’ blackout warnings
Major employers have told their staff to brace for more major power outages, but authorities say their fears are based on bad information.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
South Australia is on heightened alert for power blackouts in the wake of the state’s second worst electricity outage.
The state government will on Thursday switch off taxpayer-funded solar panels to help avoid SA having “too much” energy in a new spate of sunny weather.
But authorities have told households that residential rooftop solar panels can stay on after the market regulator established enough work had occurred to reduce power supplies.
There was confusion Wednesday night after major organisations, including SA Health and BHP, warned staff about potential blackouts.
The state government denied such risks but officials warned there was a “heightened” risk after the SA network was cut off from the national electricity grid.
The interconnector with Victoria has been crippled from a damaged tower near Tailem Bend, almost 100km southeast of Adelaide.
The Australian Energy Market Operator told the government on Wednesday that it had “reasonable confidence” in energy supplies.
“There are, however, challenging operating times and there are a number of concurrent risks and significant uncertainties,” it said.
A further assessment on system security on Thursday with a sunny, 23C forecast.
In a memo to staff late on Wednesday, BHP said it had received “information regarding a possible statewide power blackout in South Australia” on Thursday.
Management recommended staff work from home where possible “to mitigate impacts on you or your team”.
In a separate memo, Wayne Gadd, the chief financial officer at the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, which manages hospitals including Flinders Medical Centre, issued a similar warning.
“We’ve been advised by the Department for the Premier and Cabinet that there is a potential for rolling power outages tomorrow,” he wrote to staff.
Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the advice issued by SAHLN to staff “contained inaccuracies” and had not been appropriately authorised.
Asked about the BHP memo, he said working arrangements were a matter for the company but “AEMO have given them advice that their concerns are unwarranted”.
AEMO spokesman, Jonathon Geddes, said the operator had not advised of either a statewide or rolling blackouts.
“I’m unaware of any organisation that has issued a threat that there would be blackouts tomorrow in South Australia that would warrant people working from home,” he said.
SA Power Networks spokesman, Paul Roberts, said more than 3000 customers still did not have electricity.
But several hundred Adelaide Hills residents, at Upper Sturt, would unlikely have supplies returned until Saturday due to the “amazing damage”.
At least 20 Stobie poles needed repair – a job that usually takes eight hours.
Solar users may need to switch off their panels
By Evangeline Polymeneas
South Australians could be asked to turn off their solar panels yet again, as storm damage continues to affect our energy supply.
The weekend’s storm took out a transmission tower at Tailem Bend at around 5pm on Saturday, meaning South Australia is no longer sending excess power to Victoria.
The excess in power could prove too much for our grid to handle, especially as sunny weather is forecast for Thursday.
Simon Emms, the CEO of ElectraNet called Thursday the “highest risk day” for an oversupply of power.
“With the interconnector out of service, we’re not connected to Victoria so that means we can’t export any surplus power,” Mr Emms said.
“On Thursday ElectraNet will be working with the Australian Energy Market Operator and SA Power Networks.
“The first step is they’ll turn off wind farms and commercial solar farms to hopefully minimise the impact on the rooftop solar,” he said.
The likelihood that household solar systems will need to be turned off to prevent the grid going into overdrive “depends on the balance on the day”.
“Obviously the sunnier it is the more rooftop solar there will be so the more likely it will need to be dialled down.”
The process of dialling down solar systems is controlled by SA Power Networks. Mr Emms said anyone concerned about what they should do about their solar panels is urged to contact their solar provider.
Mr Emms said a permanent replacement for the tower could take “many months”.
In the interim, ElectraNet has built temporary towers to restore power and said they should hopefully take effect by the end of the weekend.
“There’s a lot of work involved, especially a lot of engineering to make sure that the solution that you put up is safe, because it’ll probably be up for a while, because we’ll have to build a new tower there,” Mr Emms said.
Join the conversation
Daughter’s horror after finding videos of boyfriend raping mum
The partner of a man who worked for a SANFL club was left scarred for life after she found videos on his phone of him raping her mother.
Read more
Embattled Gupta vows he can deliver on Whyalla promise
Sanjeev Gupta says despite a “crisis” in the steel industry which has helped push the Whyalla steelworks into the red, he can deliver a bright future for the industrial city.
Read more