The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Tuesday morning issued a warning that households in the eastern states of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) could be left without power from 17:00 to 21:00 local time as demand for electricity outstrips supply.
AEMO on Monday night urged people in the two states to conserve electricity after it used emergency powers to direct more power into the network.
Despite the warnings, Chris Bowen said he was confident that outages could be prevented.
"That's what we're working to avoid, and we did avoid (it) yesterday," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television.
The energy regulator has implemented price caps on wholesale electricity prices in NSW, Victoria and South Australia in addition to Queensland in response to soaring prices.
It means generators in those states cannot charge more than 300 Australian dollars (208.1 U.S. dollars) per megawatt hour.
If they withdraw capacity because they cannot cover their costs at that price, the market operator can compel them to supply power to the grid.
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