❓ Dr. Steve Thomas questions the Minister for Energy regarding the use of diesel generators in the South West Integrated System (SWIS) due to an outage at the Collie power station and discrepancies in previous answers. The Minister clarifies that Synergy did not fire up diesel generators, but AEMO data shows diesel generation occurred.
AnsweredQoN 746Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SYNERGY — OUTAGE — COLLIE
746. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Energy:
I refer to my question without
notice 598 asked on 13 June 2023 relating to Synergy's unscheduled
outage of the 318-megawatt Collie power
station, initially shut for maintenance in early April 2023, and as at 13 June
2023 unable to restart; and to Peter Milne's WAtoday article of
9 June, which stated —
Expensive
and rarely used ''last resort'' diesel generators have been fired
up for the past three evenings to maintain power to the south-west of WA due to
shuttered coal-fired generators and little wind or solar energy.
(1) Since 1 June
2023, how many times have diesel generators been fired up for power supply
generation and continuity to the south west integrated system, and on what
dates and for what time periods?
(2) What
generation capacity directives has the Australian Energy Market Operator issued
in relation to the SWIS since 1 June 2023?
(3) Given the
answer to question without notice 598 states that since 1 June 2023, Synergy
has fired up diesel generators for power
supply generation and continuity on nil occasions, which of the two opposite
accounts is accurate?
746. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Energy:
I refer to my question without
notice 598 asked on 13 June 2023 relating to Synergy's unscheduled
outage of the 318-megawatt Collie power
station, initially shut for maintenance in early April 2023, and as at 13 June
2023 unable to restart; and to Peter Milne's WAtoday article of
9 June, which stated —
Expensive
and rarely used ''last resort'' diesel generators have been fired
up for the past three evenings to maintain power to the south-west of WA due to
shuttered coal-fired generators and little wind or solar energy.
(1) Since 1 June
2023, how many times have diesel generators been fired up for power supply
generation and continuity to the south west integrated system, and on what
dates and for what time periods?
(2) What
generation capacity directives has the Australian Energy Market Operator issued
in relation to the SWIS since 1 June 2023?
(3) Given the
answer to question without notice 598 states that since 1 June 2023, Synergy
has fired up diesel generators for power
supply generation and continuity on nil occasions, which of the two opposite
accounts is accurate?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the
member for some notice of the question.
The following answer has been
provided to me by the Minister for Energy.
(1) According to the Australian Energy Market Operator's
website, on 23 instances diesel generation facilities have generated electricity between 1 June and 13 June
2023. The duration and date of each facility operated during this period
is outlined in the following table and is also publicly available on the AEMO
website. I seek leave to have that table incorporated into Hansard .
[Leave granted for the following
material to be incorporated.]
^
TESLA_GERALDTON_G1
TESLA_KEMERTON_G1
TESLA_NORTHAM_G1
TESLA_PICTON_G1
NAMKKN_MERR_SG1
03-Jun
�
�
�
9am–12am
�
04-Jun
�
�
�
12am–8am
�
06-Jun
5pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–8pm
07-Jun
5pm–8pm
5pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
5pm–8pm
4pm–9pm
08-Jun
5pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
5pm–9pm
12-Jun
5pm–8pm
4pm–7pm
4pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–8pm
13-Jun
8am–12am
6pm–7pm
�
�
�
�(2) Seven dispatch advisories that relate to lack of
reserve were sent to market participants by AEMO between 1 June and 13 June
2023.
(3) Question
without notice 598 was about Synergy, not the south west interconnected system.
As noted in question without notice 598, Synergy has not fired up any diesel
generators in this period.
member for some notice of the question.
The following answer has been
provided to me by the Minister for Energy.
(1) According to the Australian Energy Market Operator's
website, on 23 instances diesel generation facilities have generated electricity between 1 June and 13 June
2023. The duration and date of each facility operated during this period
is outlined in the following table and is also publicly available on the AEMO
website. I seek leave to have that table incorporated into Hansard .
[Leave granted for the following
material to be incorporated.]
^
TESLA_GERALDTON_G1
TESLA_KEMERTON_G1
TESLA_NORTHAM_G1
TESLA_PICTON_G1
NAMKKN_MERR_SG1
03-Jun
�
�
�
9am–12am
�
04-Jun
�
�
�
12am–8am
�
06-Jun
5pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–8pm
07-Jun
5pm–8pm
5pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
5pm–8pm
4pm–9pm
08-Jun
5pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
4pm–8pm
5pm–9pm
12-Jun
5pm–8pm
4pm–7pm
4pm–7pm
5pm–7pm
4pm–8pm
13-Jun
8am–12am
6pm–7pm
�
�
�
�(2) Seven dispatch advisories that relate to lack of
reserve were sent to market participants by AEMO between 1 June and 13 June
2023.
(3) Question
without notice 598 was about Synergy, not the south west interconnected system.
As noted in question without notice 598, Synergy has not fired up any diesel
generators in this period.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.