The power is back on, but South Australians aren't happy after they sweltered through a night of blackouts with temperatures reaching nearly 40 degrees.
Market power prices surged to over 100 times the normal price.
With supply not meeting demand, the Australian Energy Market Operator ordered the state to cut power to around 90-thousand customers for nearly 40 minutes.
The South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill is furious
This is totally and utterly unacceptable and it didn't need to happen. South Australia is now on its own in the national electricty market. It's on its own because the national energy market operator is unable to run a system which guarantees us security of supply.
But the Federal Government says there was no choice but to cut power to South Australians because of the state's heavy reliance on renewable energies like solar and wind power.
The state has a renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2025 and one of the highest uses of wind power in the world.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the state has left itself vulnerable.
When they have their biggest heatwave, there is no wind. When there is no wind, all their windmills are not generating electricity and they haven't planned for that. This is not an issue about the virtues of fossil fuel, one type or another, or wind energy or renewable energy this is an issue about competence.
And the Federal Government says competence is lacking in the South Australian Labor government.
Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten stepped up to defend his state counterparts.
We need to find out what happened, make sure the national energy grid is working properly and we need to make sure it doesn't happen again. That is what people want from us. Not everyone pointing the finger at everybody else.
The Coalition has listed energy security and affordability as one of its priorities for 2017.
The Prime Minister says South Australia moved to renewables too quickly and needs a new baseload power station, fired by so-called clean coal.
And, to illustrate the point, Treasurer Scott Morrison brought a lump of coal onto the floor of Parliament during Question Time.
"This is coal - don't be afraid, don't be scared It's coal, it was dug up by men and women who work and live in the electorates of those who sit opposite. Affordable energy is what Australian businesses need to remain competitive. They can't fizzle out in the dark as those opposite would have them do, as businesses in South Australia are now confronting.
The South Australian government says it's going to take dramatic action but hasn't given any further detail on what that means.
Premier Weatherill says nothing is off the table.
One option is to completely nationalise the system. That's an extraordinary option, it would involve breaking contracts and exposing us to sovereign risk and the SA taxpayers to extraordinary sums of money."
The entire state went dark during a blackout after severe storms last year.
The head of the Australian Industry Group, Innes Willox, says the energy security debate is hurting business confidence.
We're rapidly getting into the too hard basket when it comes to international boardrooms. International boardrooms are going to look at Australia, say we have no energy certainty, no energy security, let's look somewhere else for our investment, it's all too hard.
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