China News Service, June 15. According to Hong Kong's "Wen Wei Po" report on the 15th, recently, Australia, as a major energy producer, has suffered from the cold snap, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict pushing up natural gas prices, and the maintenance of some thermal power plants. There is a severe shortage of electricity.
Regulators have warned that five states are at risk of massive power outages.
According to reports, the Australian Energy Market Dispatch Center, which is responsible for energy regulation, pointed out that five states across the country are threatened by power shortages, including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.
According to reports, the power outage crisis stems from multiple factors.
First, Australia is a major coal producer in the world, but more than a quarter of thermal power plants on the east coast are out of service due to maintenance and other reasons.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western countries imposed sanctions on Russian natural gas, which led to a surge in demand for natural gas exports from Australia, resulting in a decline in the country's remaining natural gas reserves.
In addition, Australia's east coast is experiencing a cold snap recently, which has also exacerbated the lack of power supply.
At present, the Energy Market Dispatch Center is negotiating with power suppliers to urge them to increase the supply, but many operators are reluctant to provide more power due to the price cap imposed by the authorities on wholesale power.
At the same time, governments in several states have called on people to reduce electricity consumption, and the Queensland authorities have urged local residents to reduce the use of heating as much as possible, and turn computers, TVs and other electrical appliances to standby mode to reduce power consumption.