In 2017 the Minister for Energy and Utilities established a NSW Energy Security Taskforce to look at how NSW manages energy security and resilience, including readiness, planning, preparation and response capability to extreme events such as weather. The Taskforce released its initial report on 22 May 2017 and its final report on 19 December 2017.
The Taskforce’s reports found that NSW is reasonably well placed to deal with risks under normal conditions, but large spikes in demand due to extreme events such as heatwaves pose challenges for the electricity systems. The reports also examined longer-term issues to strengthen the resilience of the NSW electricity system.
In 2018 the Minister for Energy and Utilities requested the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer to Chair a panel to assess the adequacy of the state’s 2018/19 summer preparedness in relation to the energy market and associated government energy emergency management.
In 2019, the Minister for Energy and Environment requested that the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer provide expert advice on the risks within the national electricity market (NEM), especially in relation to summer. This advice would build on the work of national bodies and to focus on opportunities for the NSW Government to take further action to maintain the reliability of electricity supply in the state. A report was requested to provide an assessment for the 2019/20 summer (2019/20 Assessment) with updates to be provided upon request yearly thereafter to 2023.
In September 2023, the Minister for Energy requested that the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer provide independent expert advice on the risks within the NEM for the next 12 months, inclusive of summer and winter periods, with recent events demonstrating that the energy market needs to be resilient year-round.
2023/24 Assessment
2023/24 Assessment (22 November 2023)
2022/23 Assessment
2022/23 Assessment (20 December 2022)
2021/22 Assessment
2021/22 Assessment (24 December 2021)
2020/21 Assessment
2020/21 Assessment (17 December 2020)
2019/20 Assessment
2019/20 Assessment (17 December 2019)
2018/19 Assessment
2018/19 Assessment (28 December 2018)