A new report into Victoria's electricity grid has reinforced the need for better infrastructure, experts say, to avoid blackouts in the summer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
There are fears that load shedding could again affect regional cities like Ballarat, as there were in previous years - Ballarat "came close" to losing electricity during a 2017 heatwave.
To avoid this, action needs to be taken in the short and long term to ensure supply, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator.
AEMO's Electricity Statement of Opportunities, released on Thursday, warns that Victoria's electricity supply could fall below the reliability standard if there are outages at major power stations in the summer.
In a press release, AEMO's managing director and chief executive Audrey Zibelman said urgent action and prudent planning is needed.
"AEMO has already commenced work with the industry throughout the National Electricity Market and is working closely with governments prepare for this summer by securing additional resources to meet peak summer demands," she said.
"However, while expected and allowed for under current rules, we are finding this type of reactive action is imposing higher costs on consumers and risks to reliability which are not sustainable over the longer term.
The Victoria Energy Policy Centre's director, Associate Professor Bruce Mountain, said that while it's unlikely, there is still a risk of "significant shortfalls" of supply.
"(AEMO)'s saying we're quite worried, and we're standing on the tip-toes of our feet getting ready for this," he said
"They're also saying we need the authority to buy the backup reserves we need, and we don't think the governance of the market has given us that."
Industry is jumping into the space, which presents other challenges - the Grampians New Energy Taskforce director Stuart Benjamin has repeatedly called for upgrades to transmission infrastructure to cater for the boom in renewables in western Victoria, and said the report "further underpins" the need to modernise.
READ MORE: Minister seeks Vic fix to avoid blackouts
"We are changing from having a centralised point in Gippsland to a distributed system where the Grampians will play a strong role," he said, noting the response to GNeT's Roadmap to Zero Emissions project and stakeholder forum showed the need for a strong plan.
"The current upgrade project, being worked on by AEMO, will allow us to bring on the capacity the state needs to protect itself into the future, but it will also create hundreds, if not thousands, of new jobs for our region."
That thought is echoed by the Australian Wind Alliance chief Andrew Bray, who said there needs to be a clearer plan from the federal government.
"Regional areas are ready to tap into the jobs and community benefits of renewables and storage projects that can help fix this crisis," he said in a statement.
The federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor called for greater collaboration with the states.
State Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio was contacted for comment.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.
