Fossil fuel plant outages pose main threat to summer power supply as renewables bolster grid

Australian Energy Market Operator says risks of insufficient supply during summer peak load periods remain despite La Nina bringing cooler temperatures

• Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updates
• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing

The addition of almost 5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity will improve the resilience of Australia's main electricity grid this summer, with outages from fossil fuel plants the main threat to supplies, the Australian Energy Market Operator says.

In its 2021-22 Summer Readiness Plan, released on Friday, AEMO said the advent of a La Nina in the Pacific reduced the risk of high temperatures. Still, extreme hot days during summer, particularly if coupled with high humidity, create the highest stress on the electricity grid", it said.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning