From the Guardian · · 1m 30s
Batteries just took Australia's evening peak
Gas ran the 5pm to 8pm crunch for decades. In one year, batteries pushed it out of the way.
In brief
Gas ran the 5pm to 8pm crunch for decades. In one year, batteries pushed it out of the way. Batteries have flipped the evening peak from gas to storage in a single year, and gas is being pushed into a winter backup role it was never priced for. Originally reported by the Guardian.
Gas lost the evening
Gas generation between 5pm and 8pm, the hours when the grid strains hardest, fell 67% in the year to August 2026. Batteries moved in and took the slot.
“batteries have taken the evening peak, and they're not giving it back”
Half the peak, from storage
Batteries covered 49% of the grid's dispatchable power in the August evening peak, up from 0.4% in 2020. Gas slid from 65.9% to 20.6% over the same stretch.
Fastest rollout ever
Large-scale batteries kept coming online while half a million home batteries went in under the government subsidy program. Both hit record peak output.
“The rate of installation of batteries in Australia is the fastest uptake of any electricity asset ever, faster than solar, faster than wind”
Cheaper power, flatter days
Wholesale prices fell, a win for households. Utility scale batteries soak up cheap midday solar and release it at night, flattening the load curve and cutting volatility.
“What you actually end up doing is flattening out the load curve over the day”
The winter problem
Gas is still needed for the dark, still, cold weeks when solar, wind and batteries run short. Running less often makes those hours pricier and the plants less profitable.
“That's kind of the challenge that is coming for gas”
Gas becomes the backup
AEMO's 20-year plan puts gas in a strategic standby role, mostly southern winters. Reeve says accepting that early is how Australia avoids a costly, messy transition.
“Gas is going through a transition and its whole role is going to change”
The headline
Batteries have flipped the evening peak from gas to storage in a single year, and gas is being pushed into a winter backup role it was never priced for.
