South Australia is one of five states preparing for a possible power shortage later this afternoon.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has warned residents across the country of maximum power load interruptions that will see South Australia, Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania plunged into darkness.
Potential power interruptions are forecast for SA from 6:30pm to 7:30pm along with Tasmania and Victoria following similar warnings that were given to Queensland residents yesterday afternoon with residents told to conserve power where possible. The state managed to avoid any major blackouts for the time being with the situation being monitored throughout the week.
Energy is in short supply across the country with demand outweighing supply and experts say the extreme cold has seen people increase their energy use to run heaters which has thrown off the supply-demand balance.
Rising electricity prices and the fact that some coal-fired power stations are offline are also contributing to the problem with the price of electricity expected to trend upwards over the next two years.
Earlier this week Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen warned Australians that we’re in for a “bumpy” winter when it comes to energy usage however, South Australia is in a better position than other states to deal with any power shortages because of the state’s push toward the use of renewables.
The rising cost of power has caused the AEMO to intervene by placing a cap on the wholesale price of electricity in SA, Victoria, NSW and Queensland with the Australian Energy Council Chief Executive Sarah McNamara saying there was no immediate solution to the power crunch but the situation will ease eventually.
