Tom Clarke

Two units of electricity giant AGL Energy will pay penalties totalling $6 million for being unable to make good on their promise to be on standby to release electricity to help prevent blackouts.

A judge has rejected the energy regulator’s claims that the owner of the Pelican Point power station in Adelaide failed to disclose its complete generator capacity to the energy market operator for months, contributing to rolling blackouts during a 2017 heatwave.

Three AGL Energy subsidiaries have been ordered to pay $3.5 million in penalties for breaches of energy rules that led to a statewide blackout in South Australia.