Territorians are being urged to prepare for the possibility of rolling blackouts over the Christmas period, after ex-Tropical Cyclone Fina forced the shutdown of the NT’s main gas supply.
On Friday, NT Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley said the government had begun using back-up gas supplies from Central Petroleum’s Amadeus Basin operation, west of Alice Springs, to keep power flowing to Darwin and Katherine.
However, he warned if the contingency supply ran out, the government could need to start burning diesel, at twice the cost of gas.
“If we have to rely on diesel, there could be a [possibility] that we’ll have to load shed, which will mean blackouts across the Darwin and Katherine network,” Mr Maley said.
“We do not want to alarm Territorians, but we do want you to be informed. Blackouts are a possibility while these supply pressures continue.”
The NT relies on a mostly gas-fired electricity grid. (Unsplash: Matthew Henry/CC licence )
John Pease, deputy chief executive of Power and Water Corporation (PWC), said the Blacktip gas field was temporarily offline while its operator Eni Australia Limited assessed damage from the cyclone.
Eni deferred media queries to its headquarters in Italy, which gave no response.
Mr Pease described the Blacktip shutdown as an “unexpected event” and said power outages remained “unlikely” as there were many contingencies in place, including an increased gas supply from Inpex.
However, if demand for electricity exceeded supply, he said there was a possibility the corporation would be forced to temporarily cut power to certain suburbs, for about an hour at a time.
“If we ended up in that situation, we would be giving notice to Territorians of where and when that would occur so people can plan and minimise the disruption,” he said.
Gerard Maley says the government is taking “every possible step to keep the lights on.” (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
Analyst says ‘gas exports are the problem’
In 2009, PWC entered a long-term deal with Italian company ENI to purchase gas from its Blacktip field in the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.
The $5.5 billion deal was expected to secure supply for the NT’s mostly gas-fired electricity grid and produce a surplus of gas that PWC could sell.
But output from the Blacktip gas field has been significantly reduced since early 2021, forcing PWC to buy expensive emergency gas from costly alternative sources to meet the NT’s power generation needs.
While Mr Maley said the current situation reinforced the importance of fast-tracking gas extraction from the Beetaloo Basin, a gas analyst from think tank the Australia Institute said the NT would continue to face energy issues.
The Beetaloo Basin is being developed for its energy resources, but is still in the exploration phase. (ABC News: Hamish Harty)
Mark Ogge said big multinational oil and gas companies exported around 80 per cent of the country’s gas overseas.
“Gas exports are the problem,” he said.
“The territory continues to stumble between one kind of energy crisis to the next even though there’s massive amounts of gas produced here.
“This gas is controlled by big multinational companies who run rings around governments.
“While vast quantities of gas are sailing out of Darwin Harbour every day, the NT government is going to have to import gas from eastern Australia at the taxpayer’s expense.”
Greens MLA for Nightcliff Kat McNamara echoed the same sentiment.
“Territorians are footing the bill so that the gas industry can pocket billions for their exports, while we are left without a stable grid and high cost of living pressures,” they said.
Katherine butcher Matt Gane says the lead up to Christmas is the worst time for a power cut. (ABC News: Lillian Rangiah)
Matt Gane, manager of Bluehole Prime Cuts butcher in Katherine, said power cuts put his business at risk.
Mr Gane said he had several cold rooms filled with products that needed to stay cool, and while he could get a backup generator, it wasn’t ideal.
“We can’t afford for [the power] to be out for too long we have too much beef running especially in the lead up to Christmas,” he said.
“It’s a little bit stressful.”
