Future Electricity Supply
Since Labor’s Neville Wran was the Premier of NSW in the 1970’s and 1980’s we have enjoyed great certainty in electricity supply. He simply demanded that coal fired power stations be built and that a network of power lines be built to send the electricity to all corners of the state of NSW.
For 50 years we have enjoyed the luxury of switching on our lights, plugging in our refrigerators and adding countless gadgets to our growing list of electricity users with great confidence that the supply would be guaranteed.
In this current decade, the 2020’s, we are playing a desperate game of “catch-up” on the build of future electricity – work that should have been well underway in the 2010’s. Much like Wran did 50 years ago, the current NSW Government need to make a bold plan for the next 20, 30, 40 years, or more, to ensure that our lights stay on. We need to know how we are going to generate the electricity and we need to build our ability to move it to the people.
At times I talk to people who have a strong view that our future electricity should be renewables, coal fired, gas fired or nuclear, or a combination of all of those things. While these are interesting conversations to have, I firmly believe that what people want is to know that when they flick an electrical switch in the house, the thing will turn on. And they want the electricity to be affordable.
To make sure that the lights don’t go out, because the necessary work hasn’t been done over the past 10+ years, our solution will need to be something that can be built fast. Of course, when you are desperate for a solution the fear is that you will get roasted on the price. But we are in luck! The fastest build of future electricity and the cheapest build of future electricity are both the same thing – solar and wind renewables.
However, if you are dead keen on electricity coming from new coal fired power stations going into the future, then you will have to also be happy with the lights going out for about 10 years and the electricity bills that you receive being at least double what you currently pay.
If your favourite flavour for future electricity is nuclear, then you will have to make peace with yourself that the lights will go out for about 20+ years and that when they come back on your electricity bill will be 4 times (or more) higher than what it currently is.
We can all lament and complain about the decisions and actions not taken in the recent past, but none of that will change our immediate future. Short of inventing a time machine, we just have to get cracking on whatever it takes to keep the lights on. The current NSW Government are doing exactly that.