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Category: Electricity Energy and Utilities / Industry / Weather

Power cut to smelter as NSW cranks up the heat

Friday, 10 Feb 2017 14:56:36

Blackouts have so far been avoided but electricity supplies remain tight.

With New South Wales in the midst of a heatwave, record-high electricity demands have forced AGL Energy to cut power to an aluminium smelter in order to avoid mass electricity blackouts across the state.

AGL said that if power to the Tomago aluminium smelter in the Hunter Valley was not cut, there would be electricity cuts to schools, businesses and homes across NSW. 

"AGL has decided to reduce power supply to Tomago smelter near Newcastle to try to prevent blackouts elsewhere... during peak power demand," a company statement said.

Soon after the announcement, Tomago Aluminium said the company's infrastructure was at risk if power could not be restored.

"This is not on, we should have a reliable power supply," smelter manager Matt Howell said.

"We should not be forcing manufacturing to the wall where we simply can't keep the lights on."

The decision came as NSW was warned to brace for its hottest February day on record this weekend, as well as potentially catastrophic fire conditions.

People have been urged to stay out of the heat as much as possible and ensure they stay well hydrated.

Black-out warning downgraded: Energy operator

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) yesterday warned of possible "load shedding events" like the one which saw 90,000 properties lose power in Adelaide for 45 minutes on Wednesday night.

The event occurs when the operator directs power companies to switch off customers' power supply because the electricity network is at risk.

The operator predicted a NSW record peak in demand for power to occur at 5:30pm and is forecast to last for about two hours.

AEMO has since downgraded the alert, but warned electricity supplies were still tight.

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin said demand for electricity this afternoon had been higher than anticipated.

He said renewable energy supplies had made a significant impact in helping the network meet that demand.

"It's the biggest day ever for solar," he said.

"Plenty of wind power generation coming in from the wind turbines along the great dividing range... gas-fired, coal-fired, hydro."

Mr Harwin urged people to keep moderating their electricity needs to ensure power stayed on across the state.

"We've got even more generating capacity available this afternoon... we are in surplus now," he said.

Meanwhile, energy company Ausgrid reported that a power outage affecting 11,000 customers in the Sydney suburbs of Burwood and Strathfield was a network fault and not related to the heatwave.

AustraliaPlus


 

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