Sunrise co-host Nat Barr has blasted both sides of politics after the energy market regulator warned millions of Aussies could soon face a higher risk of blackouts.
From 2027, Australia’s east coast is expected to face a heightened risk of outages amid concerns the electricity grid is underprepared for the scheduled shutdown of the nation’s biggest coal power station, Eraring, in NSW‘s Lake Macquarie region.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned that key infrastructure needed to stabilise the grid will not be installed in time for Eraring’s closure.
The warning triggered a fiery debate between Barr, federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek and Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce on Sunrise on Monday.
Plibersek blamed the previous Coalition government and insisted Labor was working to address the issue before Barr cut in.
‘You are, but it is slow,’ Barr told the minister.
‘This report shows that we have a lack of system security, that is the report, that will get us through sudden spikes.
‘We need more electricity and all of a sudden, a hot day, so this is a problem. How will we work this out? Will we work this out?’
Nat Barr has blasted both sides of government after the energy market regulator warned millions of Aussies could soon be at higher risk of blackouts
Plibersek continued to point the finger at the former government.
‘It is true, all of this would have been would have been better if it had started 10 years ago but we are dealing with what we inherited and we are dealing with it quickly,’ she said.
Joyce, who served in that government, conceded they failed to act.
‘That was a mistake, wasn’t it? We should be building new coal fired power stations
‘I can say that now.’
But he said Labor’s renewable energy policy was ‘wrecking the grid’.
‘What’s happening, in a technical term, is they’ve got a car that worked perfectly well, which is the energy car,’ Joyce said.
‘And they randomly opened up the bonnet and started taking out parts and putting new parts in, thinking it was going to go and guess what? It doesn’t.’
There are concerns that that the electricity grid is underprepared for the scheduled closure of the nation’s biggest coal power plant Eraring
‘Net zero is a measure mistake and we should fix it and we should be building new coal-fired power stations otherwise, Australia, the lights are going to go out.’
Plibersek said renewables were the cheapest form of energy.
‘Coal is old, unreliable and expensive, and the renewables are the cheapest form of new energy, and that we need to make sure that we’re getting them into a stabilised grid as quickly as possible,’ she said.
‘Of course, it would have been better if this process had started ten years ago, when the Liberals and Nationals were first warned that 24 out of 28 coal fired power stations were closing.
‘It would be great if we started then.
‘Instead, we had a previous government that stuck its head in the sand, had 23 different energy policies and didn’t land a single one of them.’
Origin Energy may now be required to extend Eraring’s operations for a second time to prevent power shortages.
The NSW government says it is working to fast-track Transgrid’s plan to install grid-stabilising machinery.
‘The NSW government is accelerating the delivery of synchronous condensers by 18 months, and passed legislation to do this,’ NSW energy minister Penny Sharpe said.
‘After a decade of inaction, NSW is in a race to replace our ageing coal-fired power stations.’
Origin has not ruled out operating Eraring beyond its planned August 2027 closure.
‘It is up to Origin to make a good decision, which we’ll do with our customers and energy security for the people of New South Wales in mind,’ a spokeswoman told AFR.
