24500 northern NSW residents cop unplanned power outage on cold winter night

Politicians have demanded electricity operators take responsibility for a mass unplanned power outage across the state’s north overnight which saw more than 24,000 homes plunged into darkness. Here is what happened.

20,500 North Coast residents were plunged into darkness Monday night due to unplanned power outage. Picture: iStock

More than 24,000 residents in northern NSW were left unexpectedly in the dark on Monday night after Essential Energy was ordered to shed load due to security concerns – and politicians have been jolted by it.

The mass unplanned outage affected residents from Casino, Lismore, Goonellabah, Kyogle, Ballina, and surrounding areas for a period of up to four hours.

Unplanned power outage in northern NSW Monday July 8, 2024 that impacted 24,500 residents.

While some took the blackout in their stride, the large outage that occurred with no warning has angered residents concerned for the welfare of elderly relatives dependent on life- supporting medical equipment and those with sick children.

The blackout also reignited debate over renewable energy versus coal powered and nuclear power options.

One woman said: “As a registered critical supply customer, we also lost power and in certain times of our day this could be serious and life threatening due to oxygen supply issues.”

The Wurlitzer bakery in Evans Head said the second recent outage blew a freezer and shut down a bread machine.

“Hours of work on top of an already big workload … losing two full days of trade and smack bang in holidays. Everyone knows the businesses in Evans need the holidays to prop us up to get to the next holiday period,” owners said.

Clarence MP Richie Williamson, left, and Lismore State MP Janelle Saffin.

Lismore and Clarence MPs Janelle Saffin and Richie Williamson slammed the outage – calling out Transgrid and AEMO for answers.

“It’s not good enough and residents deserve answers as to why the blackout occurred, why it took so long to restore power and provide a guarantee that similar shedding won’t happen into the future,” Mr Williamson said.

“The community is owed answers and I’m calling on the AEMO and Transgrid to come clean and provide those answers as soon as possible.”

Ms Saffin, who kept her followers updated via social media, said when anything occurs that is unexpected it cannot be left unexplained to the community.

The latest mass outage has sparked debate over renewables versus coal and nuclear options. Picture: iStock

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said in a statement load shedding was necessary due to a main electricity service line into Lismore being taken out of service Monday morning.

“The blackout wasn’t related to a reliability issue,” the spokesman said.

About 5.11am Monday morning Transgrid’s 330 kilovolt Lismore – Coffs Harbour transmission line tripped and remained out of service.

From 6:17pm Monday night, AEMO instructed NSW’s transmission operator Transgrid to shed a total of 40 megawatts (MW) of electricity supply near Lismore in response to issues threatening power system security.

He said the issue being due to the Lismore – Coffs line being down and the usual peak night demand, there was not enough power in the system to fulfil demand.

He said critical infrastructure would have been put at risk of failure without the load shedding.

“At the same time, the nearby QLD-NSW HVDC interconnector, Directlink, tripped as per design and subsequently returned to service.

“During the evening, Directlink was unable to follow dispatch targets, further limiting the available options to supply power to the Lismore area to meet the evening demand, putting the secure operation of the power system at risk.”

He said after load shedding had commenced at approximately 6:34pm, Transgrid’s 132 kilovolt Armidale – Koolkhan transmission line tripped and re-closed, and at the same time Directlink tripped and remained out of service.

“At 7:45pm, electricity demand reduced, allowing the majority of power supply to be restored by 8pm, with full restoration by 10pm.”

Blackouts across northern NSW on Monday night were caused by many interrelated system trips according to the Australian Energy Market Operator AEMO.

A Transgrid spokesman told this publication at 6.20pm on Monday July 8 the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) instructed Transgrid to shed 30MW of energy in the Lismore region.

“This resulted in Essential Energy carrying out load shedding to 24,500 customers.

“Transgrid and Essential Energy apologise to customers for the inconvenience,” the spokesman said.

“The outage was the result of a network constraint on a transmission line exacerbated by increased customer demand during the night-time peak, and wider network issues outside of Transgrid’s direct control.”

Specialist crews from Transgrid are working as quickly as possible to complete repairs to its high-voltage transmission line between Coffs Harbour and Lismore.

Insulators are being replaced at a remote location adjacent to Tallawudjah Nature Reserve, 30km south of Grafton.

Repairs have been frustrated by the remoteness of the area, mountainous terrain and thick vegetation.

Transgrid is committed to ensuring the safety of its employees and network.

“We will continue to work with the Australian Energy Market Operator, Essential Energy and Directlink to ensure continuity of power supply to the Lismore region,” the spokesman said.