Australians were called on Tuesday, June 14, to prepare for power cuts on the east coast. The energy market regulator has warned that the states of Queensland and New South Wales, which together have more than 13 million inhabitants, can expect a power shortage. He also warned that supplies could be insufficient in the states of Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
Australia, one of the main producers of coal and gas, is in the grip of an energy crisis: nearly a quarter of the thermal power stations on the east coast are currently shut down due to breakdowns or maintenance work. Newly elected Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blames the energy crisis on the Conservatives, who have been in power for nearly a decade.
The national regulator tried to negotiate with generators on Tuesday, but the A$300 per megawatt-hour (MWh) price cap is deterring many from putting more power into the grid. The track of forcing companies to produce more electricity has also been explored by the regulator, which activated this lever on Monday to avoid power cuts in Queensland.
