Australia’s energy market regulator has warned of “significant risks” to reliability of supply without urgent investment in new sources of electricity and the transmission needed to connect it to consumers.

The warning comes in an Electricity Statement of Opportunities released on Thursday to provide an outlook for the National Electricity Market in the coming decade to help inform planning and policy decisions.

“This year’s report highlights that Australia’s energy transition is happening at pace,” the statement from the Australian Energy Market Operator says.

“Our old coal-fired power stations are retiring, at the same time as demand for electricity is increasing.

“Without urgent and sustained investment in new sources of electricity, and the transmission needed to connect it to consumers, there are significant risks to reliability.

“Planned generation, storage and transmission, supported by government programs, must be delivered urgently, with any delay likely to put reliability at risk over the coming decade,” the statement said.

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