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The project involves a 900 kilometre high-voltage cable between the two states, plus a spur line into Victoria. It is expected to allow more than two gigawatts of wind, solar and battery projects to connect into the main grid and significantly beef up security of power supply in SA.

The connection was originally expected to be finished by July 2026, but like many energy transition projects is taking much longer than forecast.

The minister’s move follows on the heels of the release by SA in mid-November of a proposal that would encourage new gas power generation to ensure the lights stay on as electricity demand rises.

The proposal would introduce a target for firm power to reduce the risk of households “being exposed to price shocks and periods of unserved energy” during extended periods of low renewable generation.

SA is typically seen as a pioneer in its progress towards a decarbonised electricity supply system, having shut down its last coal-fired power station in 2016.

The International Energy Agency in September cited the state as one of the world’s “frontrunner power systems” in terms of the high level of renewables integrated into its grid, but said it faced economic and technical challenges around stability and flexibility.

The mounting worries about the stability of the SA grid come amid broader concerns across the National Electricity Market about meeting peak demand as more ageing coal-fired plants head towards closure.

Parts of the grid are under extreme pressure in periods when high demand coincides with coal-fired plant outages, with NSW coming close to blackouts last week.

Project EnergyConnect has been plagued by construction difficulties on the NSW side of the border, with contractor Elecnor reporting heavy losses on the work, which is running behind schedule. Construction of the 206-kilometre SA side of the project was completed almost a year ago.

Transgrid has already advised AEMO of delays to the start-up schedule, but the SA government is among several parties worried that further delays are inevitable. Under the latest schedule advised by AEMO in August, the first stage of the project, involving 150MW of transfer capacity, is due to come online in December, followed by 500MW in March 2027 and 800MW in July 2027.

A Transgrid spokeswoman said the company and construction partner Elecnor Australia remained committed to these timeframes.

But in Mr Koutsantonis’ proposal to the Australian Energy Market Commission, the rule-making body for the energy sector, about the diesel restarts, he referred to delays at EnergyConnect.

Specifically, these had not been accounted for in AEMO’s calculation of a 200MW shortfall in the state’s reliability outlook. He proposed a change in the rules that would allow AEMO to direct the restart of two diesel-powered stations with 138MW of total capacity that were mothballed by owner Engie on July 1.

The change would give AEMO the ability to negotiate with Engie to procure the services of the Snuggery and Port Lincoln plants as a reserve outside the main wholesale market to be called on if needed for the next two years.

“We have long raised concerns about the timing of Project Energy Connect,” Mr Koutsantonis told The Australian Financial Review.

He said that the construction of the transmission line would not remove the need for more gas-fired power to support renewable generation.

“We have also long maintained that gas is an essential part of our energy mix as a firming mechanism for renewables, and this will remain the case for the foreseeable future,” the minister said.

Cameron O’Reilly, an energy and public policy specialist at advisers Marsden Jacob Associates, said the actions should be considered important “by a government with the highest level of variable renewable energy in the country”, and said it was understandable given the challenges South Australia has experienced in energy supply over the last decade, including the “system black” power failure in 2016.

“South Australians have lived long enough with high levels of variable renewable energy to recognise that you still need gas peaking at certain times, and clearly with the delays to EnergyConnect and the warnings from AEMO that they need to be prepared for that,” he said. “It’s a pragmatic response.”

Mr O’Reilly said that with or without EnergyConnect, it was likely gas peaking would always be required. Electricity retailers in South Australia would also likely still want fast-start gas peakers in their portfolio within the state to protect them against price volatility, rather than hedge their load across interconnectors, he added.

The proposal for the diesel-powered generators is probably a reaction to AEMO’s latest advice about the security of supply outlook in the state, said Dylan McConnell, an energy systems analyst at University of NSW.

He said that while delays at EnergyConnect could be factor in the state’s proposal for firming generation, it was possibly more a reflection that SA wanted long-duration generation resources, longer than the generation being supported by the Commonwealth government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Mr Koutsantonis noted that when the former Marshall Liberal Government tipped money into EnergyConnect, SA Labor had warned it would hasten the demise of South Australian generation on Torrens Island in Adelaide, and that is what occurred.