Coal unit failure a threat to Victorian energy security this summer

The head of Australia’s energy market operator said threats to the reliability of the electricity grid in Victoria were its main concern following AGL’s announcement that one of four generating units at the Loy Yang A power station will be out of action for seven months.

AGL says one generating unit at Loy Yang A
 will be out for repairs until December.

Failures and planned outages at multiple coal and gas-fired units in the Latrobe Valley played havoc with Victoria’s energy grid last summer, forcing the energy market operator to cut the power to hundreds of thousands of customers during two days of extreme heat in late January.AEMO chief executive Audrey Zibelman said the operator was working with AGL and the rest of the industry on plans to cover the loss of generating power at Loy Yang A, which provides about 30 per cent of Victoria’s electricity capacity.

Read the story from The Age by Adam Carey - “Coal unit failure a threat to Victorian energy security this summer.”