Power Surge: Weather Dependent Wind Power Means Massive Summertime Price Hike for South Australia
South Australia is renowned for the world’s highest power prices and mass blackouts, thanks to its risible ‘reliance’ on sunshine and breezes.
In Australia’s RE capital, sunset and massive, sudden and unpredictable collapses in wind power output not only result in mass load shedding (controlled blackouts), but send spot prices for power into the stratosphere.
With increasing reliance on wind and solar, and no apparent intention to replace the reliable coal-fired power plant blown up by its renewables obsessed Labor government last year, South Australians – already suffering the highest power prices in the world – are set for much worse to come.
Power bills predicted to soar this summer
The Australian
Michael Owen
6 October 2018
Electricity prices on the east coast and in southern states could spike early next year because of the impact of a gas price crunch forecast by the consumer watchdog, energy experts warn.
Most exposed is South Australia, which already has among the highest power prices in the world because of the former Labor government’s renewable energy policies, as it relied on more than 50 per cent of gas generation to power homes and industry.
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission published LNG export prices this week for the first time to help major gas users in contract negotiations.
The ACCC has forecast gas prices to continue to rise to about $15 a gigajoule over summer, and not fall below $10.60/GJ for the rest of the year.
The publication of LNG “netback” prices — a measure of an export parity price that a gas supplier can expect to receive for exporting its gas — was a federal government directive as part of the gas inquiry.
Australian Power Project chief executive Nathan Vass said the ACCC data showed that domestic gas prices may jump to $15/GJ in January and February — four times the historical prices of $3 to $4/GJ and 40 per cent higher compared with this year’s average of $10.68/GJ.
“The impact on electricity prices will be huge,” Mr Vass warned.