New projections showing NSW may have sufficient generation capacity until at least 2018-19 have undercut the Government's aggressive push to sell the electricity industry.
Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator show the state's power supply is secure until at least 2015-16, with planned power stations ensuring there will be no power shortages well beyond that. This is five years later than the forecast of possible blackouts used by the former premier Morris Iemma to push the sale.
These forecasts come as the Government is yet to decide how it will sell the state-owned power industry. An aim of selling the first of the retailers by year's end now looks optimistic.
A spokesman for the Finance Minister, Joe Tripodi, said the Government would be calling ''very soon'' for expressions of interest in acquiring the power assets. A strategy paper which will indicate how it plans to sell the assets will be released.
The Government is still considering what combinations of power retailers such as Integral Energy and generators such as Macquarie Generation to put on the market, or whether to float them on the sharemarket.
In today's data, the Australian Energy Market Operator, which has taken over the operations of the national electricity market, says NSW is in the best position of any mainland state member of the market. Queensland, for example, faces shortages from the summer of 2014-15.
The Colongra power station on the Central Coast will be finished later this year, with further generation capacity planned beyond that, especially at a number of Snowy Mountain power stations, industry officials said.
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