Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for his question. I know that it comes, of course, from a passionate interest in terms of energy affordability and reliability, particularly for communities in the bush and for small businesses right around Australia. The Turnbull government's priority is absolutely to ensure the security, the affordability and the reliability of our energy systems. That's why we are taking sweeping action across the generation of energy, energy networks and energy retail systems. We understand that base-load power anchors our energy system, that it is an essential component in the generation mix and that we need to ensure we have enough dispatchable base-load energy when required to keep the lights on to keep the country running.

The Australian Energy Market Operator's dispatchability report released this week shows that there is a risk of shortages during summer peaks without targeted actions to provide additional firming capability. They are currently seeking to contract 1,000 megawatts of additional generation for the coming summer to make sure we have enough electricity for these peak periods, particularly in my home state of South Australia, and in Victoria. Consistent with the advice of the Australian Energy Market Operator and the advice of the Finkel review, the government is seeking to accelerate the work around the strategic reserve, which will beef up how AEMO currently contracts for reserve generation to manage summer peaks. With a major coal-fired power station—the Liddell power station in Senator Williams's home state of New South Wales—scheduled to close in 2022, AEMO has identified an additional potential shortfall of 1,000 megawatts from 2022 onwards. This is why the Prime Minister is in discussions with AGL on keeping Liddell power station operating longer, remembering that our first obligation to families and to small businesses around Australia is to ensure the stability and affordability of the energy system. Of course, that requires keeping base-load power, like that from Liddell power station, in the system for as long as possible.