An unprecedented intervention in Australia's east coast energy market will be gradually removed over the next day, with authorities increasingly confident in the supply of wholesale electricity.
The staged resumption will see the market again setting prices from tomorrowThe Australian Energy Market Operator last week seized control of the east coast energy market for the first time in its history after days of volatility put several states at risk of blackouts.
AEMO yesterday signalled there was sufficient supply to get through Wednesday but confirmed it was still directing generators to pump power into the network. "We are taking a number of steps operationally and working very closely with generators to make sure that the dysfunctional behaviour doesn't re-occur" he said.
But AEMO then suspended the spot market entirely across the national electricity market — which includes Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, NSW and the ACT — saying it was impossible to ensure reliable electricity supply under the current circumstances.The crisis has been caused, in part, by soaring global coal and gas prices and an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations in Australia operating below capacity.