NSW admits it needs coal-fired power for longer

Samantha Hutchinson and Angela Macdonald-Smith

Updated Sep 5, 2023 – 3.23pm, first published at 11.43am

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The NSW government will begin talks with Origin Energy about what it would take for the company to keep the Eraring coal-fired power station open past its nominated 2025 closure date, after a report found prices could spike and supply would be more unreliable when the generator is switched off.

After months of deliberation, NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe released the findings of a “check-up” of the state’s energy supply on Tuesday and unveiled the government’s next steps to ease the spectre of blackouts amid an energy transition and the retirement of older coal-fired infrastructure.

Samantha Hutchinson is the AFR's National Reporter. Most recently, she was CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Before that, she covered Victorian and NSW politics and business for The Australian, the AFR and BRW Magazine.

Angela Macdonald-Smith writes on the resources industry with a focus on energy, including gas, oil, electricity and renewables.