‘3rd-World Power System’: Former Energy Boss Says After Blackout Threats in NSW

Light bulbs in Toulouse, France, on Sept. 17, 2022. Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

The former CEO of a major government-owned energy company in Australia has called New South Wales’ (NSW) power grid a “third-world system.”

This comes after a surge in energy usage caused by high temperatures in mid-December put significant pressure on the NSW power system, prompting the state government to request its residents to turn off their home appliances between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to prevent blackouts.

In an interview with 2GB Radio, Paul Broad, the former boss of Snowy Hydro, which manages nine hydroelectric power stations and 16 large dams across Australia, lamented how the NSW power grid had degraded to a third-world system.

Mr. Broad said people should have been able to use air conditioning at home and enjoy the convenience instead of being asked to turn it off.

“That is called a first-world country. Those are the things that our fathers gave to us, and we'd like to give them to our kids,” he said.

“And now we are running on a knife’s edge. We are running into a significantly higher risk for a normal summer.”

In the face of blackout risks, the NSW government has asked its government agencies to cut down on their electricity use, including switching off non-essential lights and reducing air conditioning.

It also warned the state residents of further energy supply shortages in the coming months as the summer progressed.

Massive Net Zero Transition Is Behind Energy Shortages

Mr. Broad believed the cause behind the current unreliable state of the power grid was the ideology that Australia needed to go through the net zero transition overnight.

The former CEO explained that there were a lot of renewables on the grid that did not work when it was cloudy or overcast.

The problem was exacerbated by the retirement of large coal-fired power plants that had served the state well for many years.

Mr. Broad added that it was unwise to shut down coal-fired power stations without proper alternative generation.

“You can’t close things until you know the alternative works, [until] you know the alternative will work at a price point that won’t break every household in the country,” he said.

In April, AGL Energy retired the Liddell Power Station, which had supplied electricity to NSW for 52 years, to build a renewable energy hub.

The shutdown raised significant concerns about the stability of the state’s power grid and electricity prices.

In September, the NSW government confirmed that it was negotiating with Origin Energy to extend the lifespan of the country’s largest coal-powered station, Eraring, beyond its 2025 closure date to fill the gap left by Liddell’s shutdown.

Liddell Power Station in Muswellbrook, Australia, on April 27, 2023. Roni Bintang/Getty Images

Problems Within Australia’s Net Zero Transition

Meanwhile, Mr. Broad noted that there were issues with the way Australia approached the net zero transition.

While the country is phasing out coal, Australian coal is being shipped to other nations in large quantities.

“They’re going off to China, they’re going off to Japan, they’re going off to South Korea,” he said.

“Now all those countries have recognised the need to sustain very efficient, coal-fired power plants.”

The former CEO also said while countries like South Korea were moving into nuclear power plants, Australia did not adopt this approach.

He then suggested the Australian government take a further step beyond embracing nuclear submarine technology and build nuclear power stations on land.

Finally, Mr. Broad called on the government to stop interfering in the energy market and let the energy transition happen in a “rational way.”

“Let the market work that out. The private capital will come in to invest in it. Let the private sector sustain the coal plants and stop trying to demonize them,” he said.