Power shortage risks in 2024 after loss of gas-fired power plant

A gas turbine like the one pictured suffered catastrophic damage when a turbine blade broke while it was running. (Image: Getty)

Pattrick Smellie

Tue, 12 Sep 2023

The loss of the country’s largest fast-start gas-fired peaker power stations in the last month bodes ill for winter 2024, energy market analyst John Kidd is warning.His comments follow the closure until 2025 of one of two of Contact Energy’s 100 megawatt (MW) peaking plants after a turbine blade broke and caused extensive internal damage to the machine.That came on top of the unscheduled loss of Genesis Energy’s Huntly unit 5 - a 403MW gas peaker - last month until May next year.Kidd, whose firm Enerlytica provides detail...

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