Two states are facing a blackout warning today as temperatures along much of the New South Wales coast are set to nudge 40 degrees.
The heatwave is predicted to sweep Sydney, the Hunter, and the Illawarra regions in particular, putting electricity reserves to the test as millions turn on the air conditioning.
And critical power generators are undergoing maintenance, with four still offline this morning.
Authorities have issued blackout warnings for today and tomorrow, with tomorrow’s warning also covering Queensland residents.
The highest-risk blackout times are between 3.30pm and 7.30pm.
People have been urged to limit their use of electric lights and also air-conditioning if they can safely do so.
Temperatures in the next couple of days are expected to be 10 to 12 degrees higher than average, closing in on 40 tomorrow in Sydney’s west.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said it “has alerted the energy industry and is working with power station operators and transmission businesses to boost electricity availability”.
Late yesterday afternoon, AEMO advised that energy reserves had improved after transmission outages were cancelled.
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Premier Chris Minns said he aimed to let people know what’s going on.
“We’ve had early reports that the grid could be under a lot of pressure. I acknowledge that,” he said.
“We will be as quick as possible with updates to the community about potential interruptions with supply.”
