‘Unreliable’: Dire blackout warning

Australia: So, it looks like we’re in for a rough summer. Households and businesses are being told to get ready for rolling blackouts. The country’s old electricity system is really showing its age and might not hold up.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting one of the hottest summers on record. We’re talking about temperatures that could be 1.5 degrees above normal. That’s pretty intense!

With all this heat, we can expect more extreme heat days and some serious humidity. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on our already struggling power grid. Amanda McKenzie from the Climate Council says our coal-fired power stations might just overheat.

Blackouts are becoming more common as these old coal plants can fail unexpectedly, especially during heatwaves when we need power the most. It’s a bit of a ticking time bomb.

The energy market operator has been briefing everyone about how ready the system is for summer. They’re trying to stay ahead of the game, but there are still risks.

Michael Gatt from AEMO mentioned they’re gearing up for a hot few months. They’ve been working hard to secure extra capacity, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

Even though we’ve dodged a major crisis so far, energy expert Paul Broad is worried. He thinks we’ve been lucky with mild summers lately, which has hidden how precarious our energy situation really is.

Politicians are also weighing in. Ted O’Brien, the opposition climate change spokesman, says we’ve shut down too many coal plants too soon. He’s calling the whole situation a mess.

Before summer even officially started, we had our first real scare with blackouts. NSW was hit with a heatwave, and energy demands shot up. The Premier had to ask people to cut back on using their air conditioners and save power.

Thankfully, they managed to avoid blackouts this time, but it was a close call. AEMO had to pull out all the stops to keep the lights on.