NSW residents urged to save power this afternoon and evening to avoid blackouts as storms approach

An estimated 2,000 people in Sydney’s south are without power, while the risk of power outages has eased in the rest of the city as temperatures drop.

An outage that started in Cronulla at 4pm was still affecting more than 1,800 customers as of 6.40pm, Ausgrid said.

Meanwhile, in nearby Engadin, approximately 200 customers lost power at 6:20 p.m. 

Crews are working to restore power to both areas, but have not confirmed whether the heat wave was the cause of the outage.

The risk of blackouts in the rest of Sydney has now receded, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said.

Earlier today, experts said there could be “insufficient available generation” as workers and students head home between 3pm and 8pm on a day that was hot with temperatures reaching 30 degrees for many.

Production from the state’s solar panels will also decrease during this time.

“AEMO has forecast that there may be insufficient generation available to meet demand in NSW,” Energy Minister Penny Sharp said in a statement.

“As a result, steps are being taken to reduce demand and reduce the risk of load shedding leading to temporary power outages in some areas.”

Organizations such as local councils and water companies have been asked to reduce their electricity use amid the heat.

Homeowners also had to do their part by closing blinds, doors and windows to keep out the heat and postponing the use of things like dishwashers and pool pumps.

The air conditioner should be set between 24 and 26 degrees to save energy.

AEMO said earlier it was “continuing to work with industry and the State Government to manage the expected low power reserves this afternoon”.

“This situation is the result of heat wave conditions combined with the absence of large power plants,” it said.

By midday, Sydney Airport approached 37 degrees, in the west it was 36 degrees and the city was a cooler 29 degrees.

Thunderstorms, showers possible in NSW

Meanwhile, the storms heading for parts of New South Wales have moved on – for now.

However, it is possible that they will return later, forecasters believe.

“Severe thunderstorms have now weakened or moved south of the Victorian border, but thunderstorm activity continues in western New South Wales and the storms may become strong again this afternoon and evening,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The forecast is for rain, with showers possible tonight and tomorrow, changing to more heavy rain on Friday and Saturday.

The NSW State Emergency Service also warned residents to prepare for “potentially severe storms with heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail” for areas including Western NSW, Sydney, the Mid North Coast, parts of the Hunter and Illawarra.

Meanwhile, power is being restored to thousands of residents in southern NSW after outages affected more than 6000 customers since 5.30am.

Households and businesses in the Riverina region including Wagga Wagga, Culcairn, Henty, Uranquinty and Holbrook were affected.

Energy company Essential Energy said the outage was caused by a fault on the Transgrid transmission line between Wagga Wagga and Albury.

He said the outage was not heat-related, despite warnings of possible outages earlier this week due to some generators being offline.

“The power supply was isolated to ensure the safety of the community until crews were able to temporarily restore power via a reverse power line just after 9am,” an Essential Energy spokesman said.

“An SMS has been sent to affected customers.

“To receive information about power outages, we encourage customers to confirm their contact details are up-to-date with their electricity traders.”

Energy expert Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute said there were several factors that put Australia’s most populous state at risk of blackouts in November.

The weather is more like summer

He said climate change meant Sydney was seeing weather conditions more typical of January or February in November, while the aging power grid required more and more maintenance.

“We haven’t gotten down to what needs to be done,” he said Today.

“What needs to be done to ensure that we have a transition to an energy system that has exactly all the characteristics that we all want and need, and we’re not there yet.”

He said Australia was unlikely to experience massive statewide blackouts, but those problems would continue until the energy transition was closer to completion.

NSW can expect some relief from the heat later this week, with temperatures expected to drop slightly to the low 30s tomorrow and then to highs in the mid-20s for Friday and the weekend.