Amid crisis, Sydney residents told to cut power use to help avoid blackouts
Sydney
Australia's energy minister urged millions of residents of New South Wales to switch off their lights and conserve power in order to avoid blackouts. The request came a day after Australia suspended its spot electricity market due to unscheduled outages at ageing coal-fired utilities. In Australia, several coal-fired units have gone offline due to scheduled maintenance and unexpected faults.
Chris Bowen, who is the Climate Change and Energy Minister urged households to save power without sacrificing essentials such as heating. He also said that the efforts are focused on restoring units to normal operations. During a televised media conference in Canberra, he said, "We are confident we can avoid blackouts. If you have a choice about when to run certain items, don't run them from 6 to 8 (pm)."
Matt Kean, who is NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister also asked Sydney residents to reduce their energy usage from 5.30pm to 8.30pm (local time).
As quoted by news.com.au, Kean said on Wednesday, "A number of the generators that we rely on to produce our electricity haven’t come online in the way we expect them to."
"We're not telling people to turn off their heating … we're just saying maybe if you’re washing the dishwasher at 7.30pm, to delay it until 8.30pm. What we’re doing is focused on making sure that we get through tonight and the next couple of days," he added.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said energy will be on the agenda at a dinner with state leaders on Thursday and a meeting Friday.
Meanwhile, several social media users have pointed out the expansive light show that was apparently still operating despite fears of blackouts and power outages.
(With inputs from agencies)
Trending Stories
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.