Ausgrid Urges Customers to Prepare for Heatwave Conditions

27 November 2020

With heatwave conditions to return this weekend, Ausgrid is urging customers to prepare now for the higher temperatures.

Ausgrid General Manager Field Operations Sam Sofi said Ausgrid has emergency crews on standby ready to respond to any power outages.

“As part of our standard planning for these very hot conditions, our operators review the network to ensure we’re ready to respond to any impacts of the extreme temperatures and any rise in demand for electricity,” Mr Sofi said. 

“Generally, the impact on the power network only increases after multiple, consecutive very hot days.”

Ausgrid is reviewing all planned work which required power to be interrupted to customers.

In places where temperatures are forecast to reach 40 degrees planned maintenance work is usually cancelled, except in cases where customers agree to the work going ahead.

Ausgrid is advising customers using air conditioning to set it to the correct temperature and use the power save mode if available.

“The optimum range for air conditioning is between 23 and 26 degrees and every degree of cooling below that can add up to 10% to your running costs,” Mr Sofi said.

“You can also save by using fans. A ceiling fan costs about 2 cents an hour to run or about $6 over a summer. Air conditioning the same space can cost between 30 to 40 cents an hour and add $100-150 to your bill."

For more energy efficiency advice go to: https://www.ausgrid.com.au/energytips