Power reserve to safeguard Victoria from summer blackouts in extreme heatwaves

A MASSIVE reserve of electricity has been locked in to safeguard Victorian households and businesses from ­potential summer blackouts.

A reserve of electricity will help safeguard Victoria from blackouts this summer. Picture: iStock

A MASSIVE back-up reserve of electricity has been locked-in to safeguard Victorian households and businesses from potential blackouts this summer.

The Australian energy market operator will today announce it will have 2000MW of power — more than was generated by the decommissioned Hazelwood power plant — to combat ­extreme heatwaves.

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The plan includes 98MW from emergency diesel generators, which are likely to be based in the Latrobe Valley.

The rapid March closure of the 1600MW-capacity Hazelwood plant threw the energy security into chaos, with AEMO forced to assess the short-term balance of supply and demand for Victoria and South Australia.

Extreme heat has been forecast in southeastern Australia. Picture: Nicole Garmston

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a higher likelihood of heatwaves than in most years, with a chance of extreme heat in southeastern Australia.

Victoria and South Australia are expected to have a higher likelihood of a greater than normal number of hot days and a risk of heatwaves of at least five days.

The return of 833MW of existing market generation ­capacity from gas-powered generators will also be harnessed, as well as more than 1000MW of generation­ and demand-response ­reserves, through its contingency plan.

The system will operate outside the wholesale electricity market, where large electricity users are contracted by AEMO to either use less energy or generate power from their own generators.

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Demand response — a program used successfully around the world — invites households to volunteer through their retailer to use less power during peak times.

It will include paying customers to be on standby to turn down or off their pool pumps and airconditioners for up to an hour in extreme situations.

AEMO managing director Audrey Zibelman said the state now had a range of disposable resources that could be used to strategically support the market as ­required, including battery storage.

She said she was confident that the market operator had taken “all the necessary ­actions — and then some” to make sure Victoria was ready.

“As the independent market and system operator, AEMO’s primary role is to maintain system balance by procuring resources to meet the demands of the system at a time and at a location where it is necessary,” she said.

The summer readiness plan also includes a range of operational improvements, together with ensuring the availability of coal, gas, water, and diesel for generators.

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