Power buy-back option call follows Vic blackouts

A group representing large commercial users of electricity has called for the national system to be amended so power can be sold back during a crisis.

Much of Victoria suffered blackouts on Tuesday after a bushfire affected a major power transmission line.

Energy Users Association spokesman Roman Domanski says electricity retailers failed to contact at least two large users who had agreed to help alleviate the impact of a blackout by shutting down their facilities.

Mr Domanski says the national electricity market is only geared to supply, rather than react to demand.

"There's a company called Energy Response, now they have about 300 to 400 megawatts that could have been brought into play on Tuesday, but there's no means for doing that so it wasn't used," he said.

"I think it's an absolute disgrace."

Mr Domanski says these are only two examples and there are many other users who could also sell their power back to the electricity providers.

"The problem is the national electricity market doesn't allow it," he said.

"It's only half a market because it only operates on the supply side - it doesn't operate on the demand side."

The Country Fire Authority (CFA) says Victoria's power companies were warned about likely disruptions to power well before Tuesday's widespread blackout.

CFA chief officer Russell Rees says the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO), which manages the national electricity grid, was well aware of the risk posed by a bushfire near major power lines.

He says NEMMCO made a decision based on a risk assessment about whether to prepare for possible power disruption.

Mr Rees says there was clear and constant communication between incident controllers and NEMMCO.

"From my understanding with the NEMMCO people they made a decision based on risk, that the system as they designed it could sustain the sort of impact that the fire services described to them were likely to occur," he said.

Acting Premier John Thwaites says the Victorian Government did not play a role in that decision, because the national electricity market is now privatised.