A change that could prevent blackouts in South Australia has been delayed. 

The state’s “Flexible Exports” scheme is designed to allow rooftop solar panel owners, through inverters, to boost output or limit the amount of solar power that households can export, depending on overall demand.

Coincidentally, South Australia was disconnected from the National Electricity Market over the weekend. It was knocked out by a fallen transmission tower that caused circuits to trip, separating South Australia from the NEM. 

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says the South Australia grid - a world leader in its share of wind and solar (66 per cent of local demand in the last 12 months) - remains in a secure operating state.

The Flexible Exports technology is intended to prevent the electricity grid from overloading and causing potential power instability. 

A trial of 330 customers that started in 2021 has so far proved successful, SA Power Networks says.

The new technology was going to become a requirement for new solar power connections from December 2022, but that date has been pushed back until July 2023 because of manufacturing delays.

The SA government says the majority of manufacturers would not have been able to achieve compliance by the December 1 deadline.

More details are accessible here.