As the giant Hazelwood coal plant turns off the last of its units, the national electricity grid manager has sought to reassure the public it is taking steps to ensure the lights stay on when demand soars next summer.
In an interview with Fairfax Media, the Australian Energy Market Operator [AEMO] said Hazelwood's closure would be offset by the availability of three mothballed gas-fired stations - one each in South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland - and large industrial businesses agreeing to time-shift their electricity use in the event of an emergency.
"The risk is no greater than it was this summer when you look at the generation that's available to us," AEMO chief operating officer Mike Cleary said.
Hazelwood's owners have gradually shut off its eight generation units this week ahead of its closure on Friday.
Its exit last week prompted ex-prime minister Tony Abbott to issue an 11th-hour call for taxpayers to subsidise the plant's operation to ensure supply was maintained.
The plea drew ridicule, with critics pointing out the ageing plant faced outstanding WorkSafe notices that would cost hundreds of millions to fix. But Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce also claimed Hazelwood's closure would lead to blackouts and the Australian Industry Group said propping up Hazelwood was one of several steps that should be considered to ensure the lights stayed on.
Mr Cleary said removing Hazelwood's 1600 megawatt capacity could have left a shortfall of between 200 and 500 megawatts in the event of a worst-case scenario - extreme temperatures, mass use of airconditioners and no wind to drive turbines.
But he said if necessary this would be replaced by about 830 megawatts of gas-fired power that has not been in use.
French company Engie on Wednesday announced it had signed a gas-supply contract that would allow its plant at Pelican Point in South Australia to bid into the electricity market at full capacity, and the owners of Tasmania's Tamar Valley station and Queensland's Swanbank E have signalled their plants will be available if required.
Mr Cleary said there was also the potential to reduce peak demand from some big industry players, removing the need for up to 300 megawatts capacity, under an arrangement that would shift production to off-peak times.
He said nobody could guarantee there would not be blackouts - faults, bushfires and extreme storms remain a risk, as always - but "assuming everything works according to plan we should be OK".
AEMO earlier this week warned that the electricity market was out of date and needed to be overhauled.
Its assessment of the scenario faced next summer does not yet factor in the possible introduction of large-scale battery storage systems in South Australia and Victoria. Governments in both states are running tenders in the hope of having batteries available as back-up for next summer's peak.
The South Australian government has also ordered 200 megawatts of back-up, most likely from portable diesel generators, after experiencing several blackouts and losing faith in the market operator.
While AEMO has warned of potential east coast gas shortages as the majority of supply is exported to Asia, Mr Cleary downplayed the risk, saying authorities and companies had begun to address the issue.
"We're seeing the Prime Minister taking action to be able to get gas back into the domestic market, we're seeing the SA government respond," he said.
Hazelwood's owners, Engie and Japanese company Mitsui, announced the plant's closure last November, saying it was no longer commercially viable.
Meanwhile, a Greens-led Senate inquiry called on the government to introduce a national plan for the orderly shutdown of the country's remaining 23 coal plants and their replacement by renewable power.
Greens climate and energy spokesman Adam Bandt said the committee had heard evidence that the equivalent of a Hazelwood-size plant would need to shut each year for Australia to meet its commitments under the Paris climate agreement.
A dissenting report by Coalition Senators said the Greens had made "ideologically driven conclusions" and not fairly represented the evidence presented to the committee.
They said an effective transition in the electricity system was not best achieved by forcing coal plants to shut.
