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Australian regulator sues Engie over 2017 power blackout

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Australian regulator sues Engie over 2017 power blackout

The Australian Energy Regulator filed a lawsuit against an Engie SA business for allegedly breaching national electricity rules in 2017.

The regulator, or AER, asserted that Pelican Point Power Ltd. failed to inform the Australian Energy Market Operator, or AEMO, about its available capacity at the natural gas-fired power plant, which could have avoided a blackout in South Australia during a heat wave on Feb. 8, 2017, the AER said in a news release Aug. 27. The AER is pursuing testimonies and fines.

"We allege that until late in the afternoon of 8 February 2017, AEMO was unaware it had the ability to issue a direction to Pelican Point to make the full capacity of Pelican Point power station available. As a result, AEMO's ability to manage power system security was impaired," AER Chair Paula Conboy said in the news release.

Pelican Point is a 497-MW combined-cycle plant located near Adelaide, South Australia. Mitsui & Co. Ltd. owns a 28% interest in the plant, which has been operating since 2001.

The heat wave resulted in the AEMO declaring a "Lack of Reserve Level 3" event following increased customer demand and a drop in generation capacity as the power system in the region failed to operate properly for more than 30 minutes. About 90,000 customers were left without power due to rolling blackouts.

"Engie rejects these allegations and will defend the claims," an Engie spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters for an Aug. 27 article. The spokesperson declined further comment due to the legal proceedings.

Power generators are usually fined up to A$100,000, or $67,540, per breach of national electricity rules. If calculated for every day the market operator was not informed, Engie could face penalties of millions of dollars.

Earlier in August, the AER initiated court action against the operators of four wind energy facilities, contending they were not able to ensure their facilities would be able to operate through system disturbances. On Sept. 28, 2016, power went out across all of South Australia after two tornadoes damaged transmission lines. That resulted in voltage disruptions that triggered nine wind farms to reduce their output. The drop in output overloaded another transmission line, causing it to trip.