NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean and federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor both made important announcements this week that impact on the National Electricity Market as it navigates its way through a period of unprecedented forced change.
As we have observed before, the Hunter's slowly shrinking fleet of coal-fired power stations means we stand to lose jobs and earnings as coal is phased out of the NSW market.
The eventual outcome will depend on how much new renewable capacity is built here.
The Hunter/Central Coast and the Illawarra were both late additions to the Berijiklian government's original suite of Renewable Energy Zone (REZs).
The Hunter has had plenty of benefit, historically, from its coal reserves, but sun and wind are more evenly spread, meaning our experience our existing high-voltage transmission lines, and our industrial sector, may be our best assets.
In June last year, Mr Kean announced plans for 8000 megawatts (8 gigawatts) of renewable power in the New England REZ.
This week, he said the government had received 80 registrations of interest, totalling 34 gigawatts, or four times the amount envisaged.
Such a response indicates strong interest from the private sector, but the NSW government knows that its state-based plans must ultimately work beside the reforms being driven from Canberra.
From the Morrison government's perspective, Mr Taylor has made it clear his main concern is system reliability.
On Thursday, releasing advice to Energy Ministers from the government's Energy Security Board, Mr Taylor continued his push for a "capacity mechanism" - a "physical retailer reality obligation" or PRRO - to have coal and gas-fired stations remain in the grid "for as long as it is needed to keep the system reliable, affordable and secure".
Critics have taken to describing such potential payments as "CoalKeeper", and say that consultant advice to the energy board, not released this week, argued against such a mechanism.
Mr Taylor, however, appears disinclined to leave stability of the grid to chance, or to the promise of future technologies.
Unfortunately, from his perspective, his powers are limited.
He must work with the states, and the power companies, old and new.
No-one, it seems, has ultimate responsibility for the grid.
A grid increasingly unfit for purpose, as the pressure on coal - and gas - grows.
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