Gas power shortage sees Australia face blackout threat

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By Paul Homewood

A shortage of gas-fired power generation and gas supply has seen the Australian gas market operator issue a blackout warning.
The country faces a gas crunch from 2019, as a string of outages and electricity price spikes in Australia‘s eastern states over the past year highlighted the need for gas-fired generation to shore up power supplies.

"We’re going to see security of both systems, gas and electricity, become more challenging," Mike Cleary, chief operating officer of the Australian

Energy Market Operator (AEMO), told Reuters.

Reuters reports that according to the AEMO annual gas outlook, more gas power plants will be needed as they can raise and lower output more quickly than coal-fired plants as a back-up for intermittent wind and solar.
The need has become more acute after three new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants opened in the northeast, tripling gas demand and drawing supply out of the domestic market

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