What is it?
If the demand for electricity is too high, it can put a lot of stress on the network and cause long-term damage to assets and widespread power outages.
Load shedding means temporarily switching off supply to parts of the electricity network, to keep the network safe and stable. In this case, ‘load’ is another word for ‘demand’.
Although rare, all distribution companies use load shedding as a last resort to help manage supply and demand.
Who decides when it happens?
The decision to load shed is made by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to maintain the reliability and security of the National Electricity Market (NEM), or by electricity distribution businesses like AusNet, to keep assets safe and prevent outages.
How does it work?
There are two types of load shedding:
- AEMO-directed load shedding: In rare cases, AEMO may direct us to turn off parts of our electricity network to stabilise the network and prevent widespread outages. This outage will usually last between one to two hours and we rotate across different locations so that no one is without power for too long. This is a last resort after all other options have been exhausted.
- Automatic load shedding: To protect the network, our electrical assets and equipment automatically switch off if it detects a sudden disruption in the electricity network.
What causes load shedding?
Load shedding happens when there is an imbalance in demand and supply or a risk to our electrical assets. This is usually caused by:
- Weather: strong winds, storms, bushfires or heat waves.
- High electricity demand: usually during peak periods, like summer.
- Generation: difficulty generating enough supply or unexpected loss of generation.
- Asset damage: caused by a system fault or a significant weather event. This includes damaged power poles or powerlines.
What do you need to do?
While we don’t want any customers to be without power, we cannot guarantee when a load shedding event will occur. It’s important to always be power prepared.
On extremely hot days, when demand on our electricity network is usually at its highest, you can choose to reduce your power usage. Only do this is you’re not sensitive to heat and always consider any health conditions you may have.
By reducing power usage, you are helping to reduce demand on the network and save on your power bills as well.
For more information and tips, see Power prepared.