NECA: Further penalties in relation to Monday 14 March 2005
The National Electricity Tribunal has fined Pelican Point Power Ltd $100 000 for a breach of the National Electricity Code on 14 March 2005 but suspended payment of $80 000 in recognition of unusual events leading up to the breach and the company’s full cooperation with the investigation.
Pelican Point Power Ltd, which is owned by International Power (Australia) Pty Ltd, operates the Pelican Point Power Station at Outer Harbor, South Australia.
South Australia experienced a severe power system disturbance on 14 March 2005, which led to large parts of the state being blacked out. The disturbance included the failure of the Northern Power Station to ride through a voltage fluctuation and the consequent opening of the circuit breakers on the Victoria–South Australia (Heywood) Interconnector (in accordance with design specifications). This led to the 'islanding' of South Australia from the rest of the national market. The National Electricity Tribunal recently issued a judgment on the operation of the Northern Power Station on the day and the power station’s contribution to the blackout.
While the Pelican Point Power Station did not materially contribute to the blackout, the plant failed to ride through the frequency disturbance resulting from this event.
The orders of the National Electricity Tribunal make clear the importance of generator performance standards to the maintenance of power system security. The AER, as part of its compliance monitoring program, will be targeting generator performance standard compliance programs to ensure these arrangements are effective.
A copy of the NECA press release and details of the National Electricity Tribunal decision are available to download.
