Last month I was in the far north-west of Australia. Every day for two weeks, the weather report didn't change - sunny, warm, dry, and no wind. Meanwhile, south-eastern Australia froze in icebox weather conditions on the other side of the continent.
During my absence, a perfect storm of conditions, including a cold snap, struggling aged coal-fired power generators, and the surge in power prices driven by the shortages created by the war in Ukraine, triggered the collapse of Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM).
