A severe storm complete with tornadoes and lightning caused catastrophic damage to the Australian state’s power infrastructure on 28 September, leaving its entire population of 1.7 million without electricity for several hours.

The event was quickly used as a stick to hit the renewables-friendly policies of the state’s government by its political opponents – notably federal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who claimed the blackout was a “wake up call” for those who placed unrealistic clean-energy goals above energy security considerations.

South