https://theconnectionpoint.au/ An independent news masthead that reads the national energy market's own documents end to end and reports what they mean for the Hunter region of New South Wales, with every factual claim linked to its primary source. en https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/kurri-kurri-final-commissioning/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/kurri-kurri-final-commissioning/ Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT Snowy Hydro says final commissioning of Kurri Kurri Power Station began on or after 16 July 2026: back-up diesel testing, overnight, one generator at a time, for about four weeks, with a visible plume and odour. Its own page also says the impacts of recent testing are under investigation. https://theconnectionpoint.au/data/coal-running-less/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/data/coal-running-less/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT AEMO's station-level data shows the Hunter's coal plants with rising availability but falling utilisation. Updated with Q2 2026: NSW black-coal output fell 4.1 per cent while availability rose 12 per cent, and utilisation fell at every NSW station. https://theconnectionpoint.au/data/hunter-solar-battery-postcodes/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/data/hunter-solar-battery-postcodes/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT Clean Energy Regulator postcode data shows 10,072 home batteries installed across Hunter postcodes in the scheme's first eleven months, on top of 97,168 rooftop solar systems since 2001. Maitland's 2320 leads both counts. https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/eraring-battery-four-stages/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/eraring-battery-four-stages/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT Origin's own stage table shows the Eraring battery growing from the 700 MW / 2,800 MWh project first assessed in 2022 to 700 MW / 3,160 MWh across four stages. Battery 1 is complete and operating; Battery 2 targets Q1 2027. https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/liddell-stacks-battery/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/liddell-stacks-battery/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT AGL demolished Liddell Power Station's chimney stacks on 26 May 2026, and its $750 million, 500 MW Liddell Battery finished construction with full commercial operations expected by July 2026, a date that has moved across AGL's own statements. https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/origin-myuna-coal-offers/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/generation/origin-myuna-coal-offers/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT Origin says it offered Centennial Coal a 12-month and then a three-year contract for Myuna Colliery's coal at existing terms, and says Centennial's pricing demand is about $50 million a year above market. The federal jobs authority has since asked the Fair Work Commission to cover both companies' workers. https://theconnectionpoint.au/market/eraring-closure-reliability/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/market/eraring-closure-reliability/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT AEMO's 2025 reliability outlook still models Eraring closing in August 2027; its 2026 Integrated System Plan uses Origin's April 2029. Read side by side, AEMO's own modelling forecasts no NSW capacity gap at Eraring's exit; the forecast NSW gap arrives 2033-34. https://theconnectionpoint.au/networks/hunter-transmission-ladder/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/networks/hunter-transmission-ladder/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT AEMO's 2026 Integrated System Plan sorts the Hunter's transmission pipeline onto a status ladder: one committed project for 2028, the actionable Hunter Transmission Project for 2029, an anticipated 692 km New England link through Bayswater for 2034, and a costed option toward the Tomago smelter. https://theconnectionpoint.au/networks/rez-stage-one-complete/ https://theconnectionpoint.au/networks/rez-stage-one-complete/ Fri, 17 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT EnergyCo says the first stage of the Ausgrid-delivered Hunter-Central Coast REZ network upgrade is complete: fibre-optic communications linking three Upper Hunter switching stations, 350 MW of the eventual 1 GW by 2028.