Albo’s $12Gj gas price floor continues to deliver a new energy shock:
As electricity follows gas higher:
Hilariously, instead of fixing the gas market and converting our remaining coal fleet to run on the superior fuel, we are readying to close one of our few gas turbines:
The scheduled shutdown of AGL Energy’s ageing gas-fired power plant near Adelaide could require “some rethinking” as spiralling costs and delays hit a $2.3 billion electricity cable needed to avoid blackouts in renewable-dependent South Australia.
The critical high-voltage line connecting renewable projects in South Australia to the national power grid has been plagued by issues, with one key contractor paying bills late for about a year, The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday.
The first major new transmission line to be built for about 15 years, the cable is expected to allow more than two gigawatts of wind, solar and battery projects to connect into the grid, involving up to $10 billion of investment.
SA is going to replace a 1280MW gas-fired power station with a lousy 2Gw of transmission, most of which will be renewable not battery and it will be shared across the NEM.
One of two outcomes looms here. More blackouts or SA will join the swath of public subsidies keeping aged baseload plants open.
It will be the latter. I guess we should be grateful it is not coal, such as in NSW and VIC.
As for the latest price shock, which has weeks yet to run higher, you will not see any of it thanks to federal budget bill subsidies.
The RBA has refused to accept these as genuine disinflation on the basis that they are temporary.
I suggest the central bank take a look at the toll roads of Sydney to understand that it can be confident that the subsidies will be permanent.
For decades, the NSW government has been gifting toll profits to Tranurban to the tune of billions in household rebates.
Once the Rubicon of corruption is crossed, it is very difficult to retreat.
What better way to hide the energy superidiot from Australians?
