Malcolm Turnbull was told gas plant shut down before South Australia blackout

Documents show prime minister knew the failure of Torrens Island plant affected efforts to restart power before he made comments about renewables

Officials told Malcolm Turnbull a major gas plant shut down during the freak storm that plunged South Australia into blackout last September, with the malfunction caused by a lightning strike or an "automatic shutdown to protect generation assets".

Documents obtained by the progressive thinktank the Australia Institute suggest a failure of gas power played a significant role in both the blackout, and during efforts to restart the power after the storm event.