Load shedding during severe heat in South Australia last week was the only remaining viable option to avoid damage to the electricity network and a "potentially disastrous" impact to consumers, the Australian Energy Market Operator says.
In its report into last week's blackout - which forced power cuts to 90,000 SA properties - AEMO said demand for power went higher than originally expected after errors in forecast temperatures.
It also found that power from the state's wind farms fell more rapidly than expected.
AEMO said its investigation showed the complexities and challenges of managing short-notice generation capacity reductions "are real".
"The facts in this report outline that load shedding became the only remaining available option for AEMO to restore power system security," AEMO executive general manager Joe Adamo said in a statement on Wednesday.
"This action prevented the risk of damage to crucial infrastructure, which if impacted, could have had a prolonged, and potentially disastrous impact to energy consumers,."
The AEMO report also revealed that while it ordered 100 megawatts of power to be shed from the SA network at the height of the power supply problems, the local network operator actually shed 300 mw.
AEMO said the reason for the extra cuts was being investigated.
Share
