You probably don’t need another reminder – especially on a 40-degree scorcher like today – but Sydney is in for a sizzling summer. While we’re all cranking up the aircon, the NSW Government is alerting all households and businesses to temporarily reduce non-essential use of electricity late this afternoon and early this evening.
It’s simple maths, but when the temperature dials up, so does our city’s demand for power. The Australian Energy Market Operator predicts that power use across NSW will peak between 5pm and 9pm, putting our city’s reserve of electricity supply under serious pressure.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe said, “With the community and the NSW Government working together during hot weather we can help minimise the risk of disruption to the energy grid.”
Sharpe adds, “Nobody should turn off an appliance they need. Instead, we’re asking households to make small changes to the way they use non-essential appliances, to make a big difference to demand on the network and power bills.”
Here are some small changes you can make at home to reduce energy use between 5pm and 9pm:
- If you turn the aircon on, raise the set point temperature to between 24 and 26 degrees. Fun fact: Each degree reduces energy use by 10 per cent.
- Switch off non-essential lights.
- Turn off equipment when not in use.
- Delay the use of non-essential appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines, until late at night or tomorrow morning.
- If you have a pool, turn off the pool pump for the night.
Of course, if you need to keep the air conditioning on for health reasons, then please put your safety first. For the rest of us, why not beat the heat by going for an evening dip in one of the best beaches in Sydney.