WA power grid: Australian Energy Market Operator chasing spare capacity for scorching summer

Last-minute talks are under way to ensure there’s enough power to keep WA’s lights on through a sweltering summer, after heatwaves put the grid under immense pressure earlier this year. The Australian Energy Market Operator is chasing a 285 megawatt contingency cushion — roughly the size of a coal generating unit — through the coming hot months. AEMO launched a tender in August and it’s believed the deals will soon be finalised. The back up scheme — the Supplementary Reserve Capacity program — has been used three years running. It comes after the temperature surged past 40 degrees on Wednesday, sending demand soaring and sparking the operator to warn that reserves were already running low. Network troubles added to the drama, including a Bunbury blackout caused by a possum. Last summer, the SRC was triggered 14 times as electricity demand hit new all-time records. Users paid to switch off their power included Water Corporation’s Binningup desalination plant, which processes seawater into drinking water. The program on the State’s main grid cost an estimated $20 million last year, The West Australian can now reveal. A spokeswoman for AEMO said it was “negotiating reserves to manage potential supply shortfalls this summer with high temperatures forecast”. “These reserves were vital to meet consumers’ energy needs last summer on 14 occasions, when new electricity demand records were repeatedly broken.” She said AEMO was committed to minimising costs to provide reliable electricity. Energy Minister Reece Whitby pledged that there would be enough power to keep the lights on this summer. “Our continued investment in onshore wind, large-scale battery storage, and transmission, coupled with our commitment to retaining public ownership of Synergy and Western Power, will ensure this remains this case well into the future,” he said. Mr Whitby said Synergy’s second big battery would be connected within weeks — with sufficient electricity to power 370,000 households for up to four hours. “This will ensure rooftop solar, which is installed in WA at a rate of 25,000 systems per annum, can be stored and used when it is most needed.” Shadow Minister Steve Thomas said the capacity tender showed the current transition plan was not working. “There is not enough energy in the system in WA under the current model. AEMO have to keep going out and finding more,” Dr Thomas said. WA will shut down all State-owned coal power stations by 2030 under a Government plan to slash emissions. But the Muja 6 coal generator will stay online this summer to support grid stability, six months longer than previously intended.