Special investigator hands report on diesel generator deal to State Government, which will have them on standby for this summer
A SPECIAL investigator appointed to probe SA’s purchase of nine diesel generators has finished his report, as the State Government also confirms they will be on standby to stop blackouts this summer.
- Contract signed to buy diesel generators when lease ends
- Investigation into deal to buy diesel generators
- One-in-10 chance of blackouts to save on power this summer
A SPECIAL investigator appointed to probe SA’s purchase of nine diesel generators has finished his report, as the State Government also confirms they will be on standby to stop blackouts this summer after warnings there is a one-in-10 chance of load-shedding.
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman has received a final report from Mark Livesey QC, who was appointed to investigate the contract for nine diesel generators signed by former premier Jay Weatherill ahead of the March state election.
Fine print in State Budget documents also reveals the inquiry is set to cost $450,000.
The Australian Energy Market Operator last month reported that SA faces a one-in-10 chance of forced blackouts this summer, with further concerns about future power plant closures.
At the time, Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said no decision had been made on the generators, but insisted a new home-battery scheme would cut blackout risks.
In a statement, Ms Chapman confirmed Mr Livesey’s inquiry was complete.
“The State Government is currently considering the special investigator’s report into the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on the diesel generators,” she said.
“Until that is complete, the public should be reassured the generators will be available this summer.”
Mr Weatherill signed the purchase contract last November, but the price was not revealed. That deal expanded a planned two-year lease of the generators to complete state ownership, with a plan that they later be combined and switched to gas power.
The generators are currently spread across two sites at the old Holden factory and Adelaide Desalination Plant.
Ms Chapman said Mr Weatherill’s change from a lease to purchase was a “political stunt”, and her predecessors should apologise for overseeing “shocking increases” in power prices.
Opposition energy spokesman and former minister Tom Koutsantonis said his move to buy the generators was vindicated by the new Government’s decision to have them on standby.
He said Ms Chapman must release the special investigator’s report “in full to the public”.
“I think, over summer, every South Australian is going to see the benefit of these generators, despite every attempt by the Liberal Party to stop our purchase,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
“They should be immediately moved to a permanent location and hooked up to gas, as was the intent, for strategic reserve so the state has capacity to call upon when the market fails.”
AEMO’s estimate of an 11 per cent chance of forced blackouts in SA did not factor in the availability of the generators, because they are only for emergency use and not market participants.
It found an even higher chance of forced blackouts in Victoria this summer, at 31 per cent. SA’s only power interconnection is to Victoria, so shortages there raise local concern.
The diesel generators have capacity to provide 276MW, about one-tenth of SA’s peak demand.
In February 2017, 90,000 SA homes and businesses were left without power during sweltering heat after SA’s electricity supply fell 100MW short of demand.
However, a subsequent report found three times that amount was actually switched off amid a bureaucratic bungle.
That blackout followed a steep drop in wind and solar energy being fed into the grid at about 6pm, while a privately owned gas-fired station at Pelican Point also remained idle.
Mr van Holst Pellekaan has announced a subsidised home-battery scheme to roll out from next month, which he says will avert blackouts for households that take it up by helping them store and use their own solar power.
He says the $100 million scheme will also boost reliability and lower prices for other homes, as more energy is left in the grid to access.
The Government is working on plans for a new interconnector from SA to NSW, which it says will allow export of extra renewable energy on windy days, and imports during shortages.
Mr Koutsantonis said he feared the plan would make SA more reliant on other states.
Last month, AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman said she had started work “to prepare the power system for the summer ahead, which includes ensuring we have the resources available to manage any range of potential scenarios, such as an extreme heatwave, bushfires, storms, and/or mechanical failures”.
“Close collaboration with industry in the lead up and throughout summer will be key to reducing the risks of energy supply shortfalls,” she said.
“As with last year, we have a clear plan in place and will take all the appropriate actions to ensure the industry is ready to meet the demands of the upcoming summer.”