Australia's eastern states face blackout risk from 2025

FILE PHOTO: The Sydney Harbour Bridge and city skyline during Earth Hour March 23, 2013. Earth Hour, when everyone around the world is asked to turn off lights for an hour from 8.30 p.m. local time, is meant as a show of support for tougher action to confront climate change. REUTERS/David Gray

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's most populous states will face blackout risks from 2025 if new power capacity is not built in time to replace the country's biggest coal-fired plant, due to be shut that year, the energy market operator said on Thursday.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released an updated outlook for the electricity market to reflect a decision by Origin Energy in February to bring forward the closure of its Eraring power plant by seven years to 2025.