Power worries grow as Snowy 2.0 finish date blows out

Angela Macdonald-SmithSenior resources writer

Updated May 3, 2023 – 5.46pm, first published at 8.10am

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A further two-year delay in the troubled Snowy 2.0 project in NSW has triggered warnings about potential blackouts and higher prices as coal power plants retire, and stoked fresh worries that Australia’s energy transition will take longer and cost more than anticipated.

Federal government-owned Snowy Hydro advised on Wednesday that the 2000-megawatt pumped hydro storage project in NSW may not be fully online until the end of 2029. It will also see another blowout in its already revised $5.9 billion budget, with no figure put on the final cost.

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