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Early closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired plant could create electricity shortages without grid upgrades
NSW, Victoria and Queensland may face a reduction in reliability if new generation projects don’t progress on schedule, Aemo says
Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingPlans to accelerate the closure of Australia’s biggest coal-fired plant have the potential to create electricity shortages in three states unless enhancements to the grid proceed and new generation and storage capacity is added, the market operator said.
The shortfall assessment is contained in an updated electricity statement of opportunities (Esoo) report. It was prompted by Origin Energy’s February decision to bring forward closure of its 2,880-megawatt Eraring plant in New South Wales by seven years, to 2025.
NSW (where possible shortfall has been advanced by four years) faced a reliability gap of 590MW capacity from 2025-26.
Victoria faced a gap of 330MW from 2028-29.
Queensland faced a gap of 770MW from 2029-30.
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