Category Archives: Energy

Electricity consumers in Queensland cut use to avoid blackouts as NSW and Victoria face shortages

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Market operator in talks with large consumers as country faces energy crisis mainly due to poorly performing coal-fired generators

Some of Queensland’s biggest consumers agreed to cut their power use on Monday to help the grid avoid blackouts, and similar requests could be made in New South Wales and Victoria on Tuesday if regulators maintain forecasts for potential electricity shortfalls.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) on Monday afternoon started talks with big consumers under its Reliability and Emergency Reserve Trader (Rert) scheme to head off a gap projected at one stage to be 1,454 megawatts in Queensland at 5.30pm.

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Ryan says supporters have received ‘threatening’ letters – as it happened

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Independent MP for Kooyong says some supporters have received anonymous handwritten letters; nation records at least 11 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Standing proud in the Nadesalingams’ Biloela back yard is a rusty old Hills Hoist.

Birds squawk in the paperbark trees lining the road as mum Priya strolls in and out of the kitchen, determined to make sure we are looked after, offering us tea and water.

It was such an extraordinary time, and things were moving so quickly early ... the advice to the various governments at the time were really monumental.

It was quite terrifying ... we would do what the data was [saying], the experts together provided advice. In the end, Australians have done very well and turned up and got their vaccinations and we managed to live through some significant lockdowns and have come out of this better than many other countries.

We live in a great country with a great health system and I was confident we would be able to get our way through this, we still are not out of it, Covid is still here ... if you haven’t had that third dose vaccination, have it.

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Malcolm Turnbull calls for gas export limits as energy regulator caps prices in Queensland

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Former PM says state and federal governments should ‘make sure all the gas we need is available here’

Malcolm Turnbull has said governments should limit gas exports to ease the energy crisis in the eastern states, hours after regulators intervened to cap electricity prices in Queensland.

On Sunday night, the Australian Energy Market Operator limited Queensland wholesale prices at $300 per megawatt hour, the first time such a move has been made in Queensland, according to the Wattclarity website. Aemo said the caps were last imposed in the National Electricity Market in Victoria and South Australia in 2019.

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Defence minister rubbishes Coalition claims on France compensation deal – as it happened

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Marles brushes off suggestions former Coalition government was close to signing compensation deal with France; nation records at least 24 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Interview with minister for NDIS and government services Bill Shorten now. First question is about energy policy.

Shorten says “the real issue about power, in my opinion is for 10 years we’ve had a decade of denial and delay.”

What we are suffering from this winter in the short term is floods of coal mines, outages of a plant which is more than 50 years old, but the real long-term problem is that we haven’t made a plan for transition to renewables, now the chickens have come home to roost.

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Biloela family welcomed home; Albanese announces $830m submarine penalty – as it happened

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French defence minister welcomes Australia’s payment to Naval Group over submarine cancellation; 70 Covid deaths across the country. This blog is now closed

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will hold a press conference in Sydney at 10.15am

There are reports in French media that Australia has settled with French company Naval Group over the cancellation of the submarines contract by the former government. We have not confirmed, but we shall see if that’s what the press conference is about.

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Chris Bowen warns energy generators against market manipulation amid crisis

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Minister say he’s not aware of any specific allegations but ‘would not tolerate’ inappropriate behaviour

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has declared any power generator using the cover of the current energy crisis to engage in market manipulation will face action from regulators wielding the “full force of their powers”.

In a wide-ranging interview with Guardian Australia’s political podcast, the new federal minister said he was not aware of any specific allegations, but he acknowledged there was often speculation about inappropriate behaviour in Australia’s energy market.

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As the temperature cools, the heat is on Chris Bowen

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Gas shortages, reported delays to major projects and coal-fired power woes are among the gifts handed to the new energy minister

It’s a shame Chris Bowen can’t harness some of the heat from his baptism of fire as new energy minister because it could come in handy this winter.

Even before he’d been sworn in, Victoria nearly ran out of gas. This week, there were more coal-fired power woes – with AGL Energy down to six of its 11 units operating – and a new winter demand record in Queensland for electricity.

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Labor says Dutton ‘desperate’ to distract from defence failures – as it happened

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Nadesalingam family arrive back home to Biloela; New Zealand ‘heartened’ by Albanese government’s climate stance; Australia records at least 40 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Jacinda Ardern will be raising Australia’s controversial deportation policy in today’s meeting. Asked if she has knowledge of whether the government is prepared to “water it down a little bit”, she replies:

Just to be clear, the issue we have is not with deportation. We deport as well. If a New Zealander comes to Australia and commits a crime, send them home ... but when someone comes here and essentially, hasn’t even really had any connection with New Zealand at all ... have all their connections in Australia and are essentially Australian, sending them back to New Zealand, that’s where we’ve had the grievance.

I’ve heard the prime minister prior to winning the election speak to his acknowledgement that that is the part of the policy that we’ve taken issue with. Even that acknowledgement says to me he’s hearing us, he knows it’s a problem.

It’s been a bugbear for us for a long time so I would like to see movement on it.

We talked about music on occasion but I’m not sure I would’ve picked necessarily the right music if I think I was given that task.

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A greener greenhouse: solar panels trialled on Wimbledon berries farm

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Energy crisis has made Kent scheme aimed at unobtrusively building up solar output more timely

Tennis fans tucking into strawberries at Wimbledon this month may find their fruit has an unusual origin – a solar-powered greenhouse.

Transparent panels have been attached to the sides of glasshouses in Kent as part of a trial to build up solar power supplies without using more land.

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Nation records 59 Covid deaths as NT announces closure of quarantine facility – as it happened

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Two charged after remains found on Glass House Mountains; Victoria’s health workers to receive $3,000 one-off payment; nation records 59 Covid deaths as boosters recommended by Atagi for at-risk children between 12 and 15. This blog is now closed

Capacity mechanism is a priority to bring on renewables, energy ministers say

The first meeting of energy ministers yesterday evening indicated there will be a new intensity in federal-state-territory coordination.

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Australia live news update: Wong condemns ‘reckless’ North Korea missile launches; Nine overturns order to hand over drafts

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NSW Appeals Court throws out order requiring Nine Entertainment to hand over draft material; foreign affairs minister labels North Korean ballistic launches ‘reckless and destabilising behaviour’; stripping dual nationals of citizenship unlawful, high court rules; National Disability Insurance Agency chief resigns; Victoria records 25 Covid deaths, Queensland 15, NSW records 10 deaths, WA records eight, ACT records one. Follow all the day’s news

China’s warning to Australia

China has warned Australia to stop “provocations” or face “serious consequences” after the federal government said a Chinese jet plane was intercepted, the AFP and Guardian staff report.

The Australian military plane seriously threatened China’s sovereignty and security and the measures taken by the Chinese military were professional, safe, reasonable and legal.

We can trace Australia’s celebrated connection to the space industry back to the 1950s and as a nation we have to build on that legacy.

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Let Africa exploit its natural gas reserves, says Mary Robinson

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Ex-UN climate envoy says continent’s need for energy is so great it should be able to widely use the fossil fuel

African countries should be able to exploit their vast natural gas reserves despite the urgent need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, the former UN climate envoy Mary Robinson has said.

Robinson, the chair of the Elders group of former world statespeople and business leaders, said African countries’ need for energy was so great that they should use gas widely, in contrast to developed countries that must halt their gas use as quickly as possible to stave off climate breakdown.

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PM says prospect of Chinese naval base in Cambodia ‘concerning’ – as it happened

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Prime minister responds to reports of Chinese naval base in Cambodia; nation records 29 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

There’s no magic fix for inflation, Jason Clare says

Education minister Jason Clare appeared on the Today show this morning alongside Scott Emerson.

Inflation is through the roof. Wages are through the floor. We have got interest rates knocking at the door. The Reserve Bank ... have made it clear there will be a number of interest rate rises, which makes it harder for people with big rate rises already. Especially for people who are ahead in their mortgage, but if you have just signed up and the bank says you have to pay more, it will make it harder and harder.

There is no simple magic fix to this.

The market expects them to increase interest rates because we have an inflation problem in the economy and rising interest rates were something that the Reserve Bank governor flagged before the election and that is the trajectory we are on, but just because these interest rate rises are expected, it won’t make them any less difficult for a lot of people who are already confronting cost-of- living pressures.

That is the unfortunate reality. There is no point mincing words about that. Our job is the government is to make sure that after some of this near-term cost-of-living relief runs out that it is replaced by responsible long-term sustainable cost-of-living relief in areas like medicines and childcare, getting power bills down over time and getting real wages moving again.

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Energy companies urged to find more gas for Australia as Labor mulls supply ‘trigger’ to ease price surge

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Resources minister signals ‘very positive’ talks with gas corporations and suggested managing coal supply could relieve market pressures

New minister Madeleine King has asked resource companies to find more gas to direct into Australian markets as she considers pulling the so-called gas “trigger”.

However, the resources minister has also claimed more coal supply was key to combating a brewing energy crisis.

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The Coalition didn’t do much on nuclear energy while in office. Why are they talking about it now?

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There is a long history of nuclear energy being used as a delaying tactic for acting on climate change in Australia

Last week, the Nationals’ new leader, David Littleproud, said it was time for Australia to have a “mature” conversation about nuclear energy while his predecessor, Barnaby Joyce, called for a national moratorium to be lifted and argued nuclear power would be “really important” if the country was serious about reaching net zero emissions.

On Sunday, the nuclear power advocate Ted O’Brien was appointed as the Coalition’s climate change and energy spokesperson. In an interview with ABC Radio National, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said he was “not afraid to have a discussion on nuclear” as the country should not be afraid to “talk about any technology that’s going to have the ability to reduce emissions and electricity prices”.

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Chris Bowen says Labor ‘actively managing’ energy crisis as Dutton criticises response

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Bowen blames decade of inaction on renewables and limitations on gas trigger for preventing a swifter fix

Chris Bowen has rejected Coalition claims Labor is not doing enough to fix the energy crisis, labelling its input “as effective as advice from the captain of the Titanic on navigation skills”.

The climate change and energy minister told Sky News on Sunday the new government was “actively managing” the crisis but a decade of inaction on renewables and limitations on the gas trigger was preventing swifter fixes.

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Albanese honours Queen amid jubilee celebrations; up to seven monkeypox cases detected; 59 Covid deaths reported – as it happened

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Prime minister renames island in Lake Burley Griffin to honour monarch’s 70 years of service to Australia. This blog is now closed

Brisbane’s new Greens MPs set their sights on the suburbs

Brisbane’s new Greens MPs talk about the moments they “flipped” voters – the driveway conversions of climate unbelievers or hostile folks who had only ever supported the major parties.

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‘Out of control’ gas prices likely to filter down to Australian consumers, food processor says

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Industry advocates push for eastern states to establish gas reserves as soaring energy costs put pressure on companies

One of Australia’s largest regional food processors says energy costs are “out of control”, with already elevated gas prices tripling since the company signed new contracts in early 2022.

Consumers will inevitably cop higher prices on their products with other costs also on the rise, including a jump of as much as 40% for raw materials such as tomatoes, carrots and apples in the past year, Jason Fritsch, the chief executive of Kagome, said.

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Unions back minimum wage submission – as it happened

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Labor government recommends minimum wage be increased in line with inflation; Anthony Albanese says stopping new gas projects ‘doesn’t reflect the needs’ of economy; new monkeypox cases reported in NSW and Victoria; nation records at least 50 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

‘Pick up the phone and call your energy retailer’

The CEO of the Australian Energy Council, Sarah McNamara, appeared on ABC News Breakfast this morning to discuss the perfect storm the market is currently facing.

It is not a systemic market failure under way but there is a coincidence of factors occurring in the market, putting pressure on the wholesale price and that will put pressure on retail bills as well.

Most consumers won’t experience the kind of wholesale market price spikes we are seeing at the moment. That is because their retailers have hedging contracts to ensure their supply costs are smoothed out over time. However, because there is general upward pressure on prices, people are going to experience higher bills over the coming year.

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Environment minister seeks ‘urgent briefing’ over scrapped recovery plans – as it happened

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Tanya Plibersek seeks ‘urgent briefing’ over Coalition scrapping of recovery plans; NSW man diagnosed with monkeypox; nation records 57 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s news

Treasurer questioned on staff shortages in hospitality

Amid his media blitz, treasurer Jim Chalmers appeared on Sunrise this morning discussing energy woes.

What are we going to do to alleviate those staff issues and how long is it going to take for that to happen?

Obviously there is a role for cheaper childcare so that if people want to work more and earn more we can tap [into] that really big workforce of parents that find it too hard because they get priced out of work by the childcare system. And we are up for ... conversation with business about migration settings to make sure that they are appropriate so that they are not a substitute for doing those other things at home.

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