Chris Minns asks Sydney residents to keep washing machines off as heatwave nears peak | Australia weather

Increased temperatures and strained power have led to New South Wales government to ask residents to reduce their electricity use in an attempt to avoid blackouts.

Premier Chris Min said Sydneysiders should avoid using power-hungry devices if they can during the crisis period, which is expected to last five hours.

“We’re not asking you to [to] run the dishwasher, not the washing machine, this afternoon between 3 and 8 [pm Aedt]”said the Prime Minister. “You’ll be helping the network.”

“We hope that these measures will reduce the amount of demand on the power system during this critical … period and as a result will not lead to load shedding or blackouts,” he said, adding that the government would keep the public updated. “

Energy Minister Penny Sharp said state, federal, ACT government agencies, water companies and local councils had also been asked to voluntarily reduce their electricity use.

“Agencies will do this by increasing the air conditioning set point where safe and feasible, closing blinds, turning off non-essential lighting and turning off equipment when not in use,” Sharp said.

The energy market operator is also preparing to ask some large users to reduce load if necessary.

The heatwave that has been scorching eastern Australia is forecast to reach its peak on Wednesday as temperatures again soar to 40C in parts of Sydney.

By early afternoon, Sydney Airport recorded the hottest temperatures in Australia, reaching 38.2C. Penrith, in Sydney’s west, was close behind at 37.7C – marking the fifth consecutive day of heat above 35C.

Sydney’s central business district was also forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology to be the hottest capital for the day, with a high of 34C forecast – or the hottest since the end of February. Its temperature reached almost 33C around 11am before a sea breeze and cloud cover pushed the mercury down.

Regions in the low to high 30s today also include the Hunter and Illawarra regions north and south of Sydney respectively.

“The severe heat wave is expected to peak on Wednesday, then weaken over the weekend,” the bureau said in a warning alert. “Locations likely to be affected include Batemans Bay, Camden, Campbelltown, Hornsby, Liverpool, Nowra, Penrith, Parramatta, Richmond and Wollongong.”

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In line with recent days, the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) has been issuing signals calling for more production from electricity suppliers to ensure power is not interrupted.

On Wednesday morning, Aemo said a so-called Level 3 Lack of Reserve (LOR3) condition was possible later in the day as solar output wanes toward sunset. Until 4:30 p.m. The AEDT market will likely require 84 megawatts of additional power to avoid load shedding or blackouts.

Aemo was also said to be preparing to activate its so-called Reliability Dealer and Emergency Reserve Scheme later on Wednesday. If triggered, large energy users who have signed up to the scheme could be asked to reduce their energy use in return for compensation.

LOR3 forecasts were relatively rare for NSW until last week when the operator issued a batch of them only to cancel them as generators responded.

About 6 gigawatts of coal-fired power plant capacity remains unavailable, including about 3 GW that were not previously planned. Many of Australia’s coal-fired power plants are nearing the end of their design lives and require more frequent and more expensive repairs to keep them running.

Aemo has also issued LOR2 level warnings for NSW for Wednesday afternoon and for periods on Thursday and Friday as the heatwave slowly abates. Such warnings are calls to generators to provide additional capacity as a backup option in case committed plants do not perform as expected and shut down without warning.

As of early afternoon, Aemo was looking for about 700MW more power to be in reserve from 3.30pm to 8pm. Wholesale electricity prices may also jump to their $17,500/megawatt hour ceiling later on Wednesday, Aemo data showed.

Meanwhile, the weather setup will favor a thunderstorm over parts of eastern Australia, including the prospect of heavy rainfall as tropical moisture is pulled south.

Victoria is facing strong winds, especially in the northeastern part of the statereported the bureau.

The bureau also noted NSW Health Board that severe heat waves “can be dangerous for many people, especially the elderly, infants, children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with illnesses and people who are unwell.”

“Look for a place to cool off, such as your home, library, community center or shopping centre,” it said, adding that residents should close blinds and curtains and close windows early in the day to keep it out. heat in homes.