It's not quite as simple as that.
Australia's electricity use prior to covid had been slightly declining or flatlining for quite a while for a variety of reasons. This has been a similar occurrence in other mature economies. However, with the electrification of transport and industry going forward, it is expected to increase in the future.
Just last year we installed between 5 and 7GW of renewables.
There is now a significant program of distributed local grid battery storage under way.
" The industry passed a significant milestone in 2020, with more than a quarter of the country’s total electricity generation coming from renewable sources for the first time. Much of this was due to the small-scale solar sector, which added more than 3 GW of new capacity in 2020 to record its fourth-straight record-breaking year. The large-scale sector also contributed almost 2 GW of new capacity in 2020 as 32 projects were completed around the country. "
https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/resources/resources-hub/clean-energy-australia-reporthttps://ieefa.org/australia-installed-record-7gw-of-renewable-energy-in-2020/So, more supply is coming into the system. The issue is more about the availability of that supply across the year and the ability to distribute it rather than curtail it.
Also, there are a couple of well known short periods in spring and autumn, supported by plenty of data, that are probably the biggest exposure point.
It will be interesting to see how they manage that.
