❓ Dr. Honey questions the government's handling of the SWIS reliability amid the energy transition, citing AEMO concerns. The Minister defends the government's actions, highlighting rule changes empowering AEMO and criticising reliance on coal.
AnsweredQoN 868Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SOUTH
WEST INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM
868. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Australian Energy
Market Operator's 2023 Wholesale electricity market electricity
statement of opportunities report published last month and note the comments
on the unreliability of our south west interconnected system. In part,
the report states —
� at this stage of the energy
transition in the SWIS, the largest contingency is likely to be related to the
risk of multiple generating units being unavailable due to forced outages.
Forced outages for the NIGS fleet
have increased, exceeding 1.3 gigawatts � in December 2022.
(1) AEMO is clearly highlighting a less reliable
system; why is the government failing to improve the reliability of our
south west interconnected electricity supply system?
(2) Is this further evidence that
the minister is simply mismanaging the transition to renewable energy?
WEST INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM
868. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the Australian Energy
Market Operator's 2023 Wholesale electricity market electricity
statement of opportunities report published last month and note the comments
on the unreliability of our south west interconnected system. In part,
the report states —
� at this stage of the energy
transition in the SWIS, the largest contingency is likely to be related to the
risk of multiple generating units being unavailable due to forced outages.
Forced outages for the NIGS fleet
have increased, exceeding 1.3 gigawatts � in December 2022.
(1) AEMO is clearly highlighting a less reliable
system; why is the government failing to improve the reliability of our
south west interconnected electricity supply system?
(2) Is this further evidence that
the minister is simply mismanaging the transition to renewable energy?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I mean, talk about
leading with your chin! I will continue quoting from the AEMO report. It states
—
In January 2023, the WEM Rules were
amended as part of the WA Government's Energy Transformation Strategy,
which incorporates several critical reforms to the RCM, to reflect the needs of
the SWIS through the energy transition. These amendments enable AEMO to take
account of the broader range of supply risks in setting the RCT, including
consideration of risks associated with an aging thermal generation fleet and
rapidly shifting operational conditions as a larger proportion of capacity is
delivered by intermittent generation.
It said that the government changed
the rules to give the Australian Energy Market Operator the tools to manage the
risks. The risks exist because of a reliance on coal-fired power stations and
the response is to amend the rules to make it easier for other generation and
other infrastructure. I would suggest that when Daniel Westerman is here next week that the member should have an
appointment with him. He is the chief executive officer of AEMO. If the
member talks to him, he will point out that the best run energy system is
Australia is the south west interconnected system because the government
responds to the changing circumstances. There
is no point pretending that coal-fired power is the solution, like the member
and his friends, like Paul Murray who writes in The West Australian ,
do. We have to face the fact that there is a transition. We have to give the
operators of the system the tools they need to take account of those increased
risks. That is exactly what the government has done and why the Australian
Energy Market Operator continues to support our government's transition
plan.
leading with your chin! I will continue quoting from the AEMO report. It states
—
In January 2023, the WEM Rules were
amended as part of the WA Government's Energy Transformation Strategy,
which incorporates several critical reforms to the RCM, to reflect the needs of
the SWIS through the energy transition. These amendments enable AEMO to take
account of the broader range of supply risks in setting the RCT, including
consideration of risks associated with an aging thermal generation fleet and
rapidly shifting operational conditions as a larger proportion of capacity is
delivered by intermittent generation.
It said that the government changed
the rules to give the Australian Energy Market Operator the tools to manage the
risks. The risks exist because of a reliance on coal-fired power stations and
the response is to amend the rules to make it easier for other generation and
other infrastructure. I would suggest that when Daniel Westerman is here next week that the member should have an
appointment with him. He is the chief executive officer of AEMO. If the
member talks to him, he will point out that the best run energy system is
Australia is the south west interconnected system because the government
responds to the changing circumstances. There
is no point pretending that coal-fired power is the solution, like the member
and his friends, like Paul Murray who writes in The West Australian ,
do. We have to face the fact that there is a transition. We have to give the
operators of the system the tools they need to take account of those increased
risks. That is exactly what the government has done and why the Australian
Energy Market Operator continues to support our government's transition
plan.
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