From Watts Up With That?
Essay by Eric Worrall
In 2021 the Australian State of Victoria enshrined a fracking ban into the state constitution. Now they are paying the price.
Victoria uses 13pc of entire year’s gas budget in just three days
Angela Macdonald-Smith and Ryan Cropp
Jun 13, 2025 – 5.00amVictoria has used more than 13 per cent of its expected gas for energy generation for the entire year in just three days as breakdowns at a coal power plant and feeble renewable generation force it to rely on the fossil fuel vilified by the Allan state government to keep the lights on.
A technical problem that reduced supply from Esso’s Longford gas plant, which is the state’s main source, became the latest hitch on Thursday, raising the risk of shortages in a system creaking under the strain of a cold snap and weather conditions unfavourable to wind and solar.
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The situation has exposed the vulnerability of Victoria’s energy security when coal power and renewables are reduced and has triggered spikes in both gas and electricity prices.
The state’s wholesale power prices peaked at over $10,000 a megawatt-hour on Thursday morning, almost 140 times the average in the March quarter, and were forecast to top $15,000/MWh on Thursday evening. Gas prices passed $15.50 a gigajoule – almost double Monday’s level – with no easing expected until Saturday.
…Read more (paywalled):
The problems in Victoria have triggered a war of words with the Queensland Natural Resources Minister Dale Last, who lashed out at Victoria’s “bad decisions”;
‘Bailing out bad decisions’: Queensland slams Victoria over gas supply
James Hall, Angela Macdonald-Smith and Sumeyya Ilanbey
Jun 13, 2025 – 5.55pmVictoria cannot rely on pulling more gas from Queensland to shore up an energy system pushed to the edge by a cascading set of breakdowns and concerns over the reliability of renewables, with the pipeline flowing south already at full capacity.
Queensland’s Liberal-National government remains staunchly opposed to further propping up the southern state’s energy grid, saying it doesn’t have the gas supply capacity to keep “bailing out Victoria’s bad decisions”.
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“Queenslanders should not be penalised over unscientific decisions down south that favour ideology over economics and engineering,” he said.
“We don’t have the pipeline capacity to keep bailing out Victoria’s bad decisions. The solution to the southern state gas crisis is for the southern states to develop their gas reserves. We’re not asking them to do anything we haven’t done ourselves.”
…Read more (paywalled):
Aside from the decision to run Victoria’s decrepit coal plants into the ground, instead of building new coal plants, one of those “bad decisions” is undoubtably green Victoria’s decision to permanently outlaw fracking of their extensive gas fields;
Enshrining Victoria’s Ban On Fracking Forever
Published:Friday, 5 March 2021
The Andrews Labor Government has listened to farmers and regional communities and banned fracking in Victoria for good, enshrining the ban in the state’s Constitution.
The Constitution Amendment (Fracking Ban) Bill 2020 has passed through the Upper House and Victoria’s Constitution will now be amended, safeguarding our regions from the threat of practices that could harm the environment.
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Quotes attributable to Minister for Resources Jaclyn Symes
“No other government in the world has gone as far as enshrining a coal seam gas and fracking ban in their constitution – but we’re determined to make this a permanent decision.”
“We’ve listened to our rural communities who have told us they do not want the unacceptable risks that fracking brings that could impact our farming and tourism sectors.”
…Read more:
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/enshrining-victorias-ban-fracking-forever
Victoria has some of the largest coal and gas deposits in Australia, but exploitation of these energy supplies has been retarded by the green ideology of the politicians who run Victoria.
Update (EW): I forgot to include the cold snap article.
Australia is in for an unusually warm winter. So why was the beginning of June so cold?
By Emily Bennett 7:28am Jun 14, 2025
A cold snap left millions of people shivering across parts of Australia over the King’s Birthday long weekend.
Temperatures plunged in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania before it was Queensland’s turn to experience a blast of frigid weather.
Residents were told to expect minimum temperatures to drop five to 10 degrees below the seasonal average.
…Read more:
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