Daily Telegraph Editorial: Old king coal still putting in

It emerged late yesterday that the one-hour eastern suburbs power outage may have been the result of weeds somehow compromising a 132 kilovolt power cable. But for a small investment in Roundup, that outage could have been averted.

• Overgrown weeds to blame for power shutdown

Every mechanical device has the potential for failure.

A Formula One car worth millions, for example, may be rendered immobile by a puncture caused by debris worth nothing at all.

It emerged late yesterday that the one-hour eastern suburbs power outage may have been the result of weeds somehow compromising a 132 kilovolt power cable. But for a small investment in Roundup, that outage could have been averted.

The outage did provide a chance, however, to examine the power supply mix in NSW. According to data from the Australian Power Project, that mix yesterday was very interesting.

At the time the outage began, before noon, wind turbines were supplying just 6 per cent of the state’s power requirements. Solar delivered even less.

Yallourn North, a coal powered, steam driven, power station in the Latrobe Valley, Gippsland, Victoria.

As the NSW wholesale power price leapt to $13,234, power imported from Victoria and Queensland supplied 9 per cent of our energy.

And everything thing else was supplied by the most reliable but also the most demonised form of energy ever to illuminate Australian homes, power Australian businesses and fuel Australia’s electric cars.

As the outage began, the coal-fired power plant at Vale Point was running at a massive 95 per cent of its capacity. The Eraring plant was at 94 per cent. At Bayswater, the plant peaked at a full 100 per cent.

The Liddell plant, marked for closure, was putting in 81 per cent. And the Mt Piper plant was also close to maximum capacity, generating some 93 per cent of its full capability.

Our dependence on coal has not come about due to a desire to shun other energy forms merely for the sake of it. Our dependence has grown because coal is dependable.

The technology behind coal-fired plants may be old, but it is also known and proven. And the reliability of coal on days of high temperature stress is, as you can see from those figures, absolutely undeniable.

Many advocates of newer and vastly more expensive energy forms would prefer an almost immediate abandonment of coal-fired power. This is simply not feasible. Nor is it feasible in the medium term.

If coal abandonment is ever to become feasible, solar and wind power technology must advance to the point where it matches coal. Right now, that point does not have a date on it.

Under attack... Shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen.

Don’t like it? Then lump it

Labor is becoming very complacent about the likelihood of victory in the coming federal election.

That’s one conclusion we may draw from Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen’s dismissive response to retirees, whom he said “are entitled to vote against us”.

That isn’t the expected answer when dealing with more than 84,000 older voters in NSW who stand to lose thousands.

Labor obviously feels that votes gained in other community sectors will compensate for reduced retiree support.

Yet excessive confidence is never a good look in politics.

The Daily Telegraph, printed and published by the proprietor, Nationwide News Pty Ltd A.C.N. 008438828 of 2 Holt St, Surry Hills NSW 2010, at 26-52 Hume Highway, Chullora. Responsibility for election comment is taken by the Editor, Ben English