AEMO suspends electricity spot market across the east of the country after wholesale prices exceeded threshold prompting generators to withhold suppl
Melbourne — Australia’s energy market operator took the unprecedented step on Wednesday of suspending the electricity spot market across the east of the country to ensure it can keep the lights on amid a string of outages at coal-fired plants.
“The situation in recent days has posed challenges to the entire energy industry, and suspending the market would simplify operations during the significant outages across the energy supply chain,” Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Daniel Westerman said in a statement. “Despite that visibility, I would say we are facing tight periods ahead, especially in New South Wales,” Westerman said in a televised media conference.
Coal-fired plants normally supply about 65% of eastern Australia’s power supply, but more than a quarter of that capacity is unavailable.