Australie : February 17, 2009

Recent headlines have loudly heralded the fact that the state of Victoria recently experienced its hottest week since 1875. On January 29th 140,000 homes had no power due to the heat wave with 18,000 still without power the following day.

The consensus among political circles is that more generation is required to meet increased demand for electricity. However, along with the challenge of increasing electricity production, generators must also do so in compliance with upcoming federal regulations concerning carbon emissions. The legislation is due to take effect in 2010 and while the outlines are clear in terms of what the reduced carbon footprint means to Australia, the anticipation of implementing the legislation requirements is causing uncertainty for generators.

There seems not to be any short term or “silver bullet” solution that ensures ample supply of electricity during times of unprecedented demand. The interconnector between Tasmania, an island which produces a surplus of electricity from hydroelectric production, and the mainland states of South Australia and Victoria is not keeping up with the increased demand for electricity. Newspaper reports suggest that the Basslink interconnector has failed. Basslink responded by issuing a press release saying that the cessation of electricity was part of the interconnector’s design specification in that electricity flow would cut off if temperatures reached a certain level. Obviously, this statement has caused many in the political arena to call for an investigation as to why there would be an interconnect failure during a time when the power is needed most.

Yes, Australia needs more generation capacity in order to meet the growing needs of the country. However, along with this increased generation, the country needs to figure out a better way of ensuring such increased production reaches the end consumer.