Sydneysiders slam Vivid Sydney light festival amid power crisis

As politicians and regulators urged Sydney residents to conserve their electricity and switch off appliances, some criticised why another event was allowed to continue.

Amid increasing concerns over NSW’s energy concerns, Sydney residents have questioned why the city’s light show has been allowed to continue.

Running from May 27 to June 18, the festival sees light installations spring up across several locations in the city, including Circular Quay, Taronga Zoo, and Darling Harbour.

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The Sydney festival of lights continued despite the fears of a power outage. Picture: Jonathan Ng.

Some criticised the move for being hypocritical, as residents were being told to conserve power. Picture: Brendon Thorne/ Getty Images.

On social media, multiple tweets expressed their disbelief that the expansive light show was still operating despite fears of black outs and power outages.

“Qn: we’re being asked to turn off appliances and conserve electricity due to possible outages, yet VIVID which uses MEGA amounts of electricity is still on. Why? We suffer yet Sydney goes up in lights,” tweeted one user.

“Did anyone turn off all the lights on the Vivid buildings to save electricity or was that only for regular people in suburbia?” wrote another.

“Just an idea raised by my partner – could switching off #Vivid #Sydney lighten the load in the #electricity crisis?” shared another user.

Vivid looking an absolute treat tonight on my arvo walk - let’s see if there’s still power to keep the lights on in a few hours 😳😳 #vividpic.twitter.com/607LPZ5Ukr

— Naveen Razik 🏳️‍🌈 (@naveenjrazik) June 15, 2022

Don’t use your dishwasher, people. We need the power for Vivid.

— James Morrow (@pwafork) June 15, 2022

We need to limit power usage in households tonight BUT Vivid will still go ahead 🤔

— Michelle Stephenson (@MishStephenson) June 15, 2022

Sydney please stop wasting electricity. Turn off the air con. Dim the lights. We're trying to keep Vivid switched on. pic.twitter.com/iCBfnfMvP1

— Craig Wilson (@mediahunter) June 15, 2022

Sydney please stop wasting electricity. Turn off the air con. Dim the lights. We're trying to keep Vivid switched on. pic.twitter.com/iCBfnfMvP1

— Craig Wilson (@mediahunter) June 15, 2022

The criticism comes as the situation in NSW has become so volatile that NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean asked Sydney residents to reduce their energy usage from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.

“A number of the generators that we rely on to produce our electricity haven’t come online in the way we expect them to,” he said on Wednesday.

“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.”

Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean asked NSW residents to monitor their power usage. Picture NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard.

A similar request was made by AEMO CEO, Daniel Westerman.

“We’re concerned about the supply and demand balance for this evening, and potentially tomorrow, and we would urge consumers in NSW only to conserve energy where it’s safe to do so,” he said.

According to Vivid Sydney’s sustainability statement, the festival uses grid-connected LED lights which are powered by “100 per cent Green-Power accredited renewable energy” which are done by the purchasing of “Large Generation Certificates from certified NSW generators”.

Guys. Vivid uses LED lights. It’s barely any electricity at all. The train that brought you to Circular Quay Station uses way more electricity than the light shows.

— Matt Bevan (@MatthewBevan) June 15, 2022

ABC presenter Matthew Bevan also made the point that many lights around Sydney landmarks are switched off during the festival so people can see the projections, which “almost certainly” creates a net saving of electricity.

“Lighting in general is honestly not that much of a big deal. Anything that’s using electricity to move or change the temperature of something else – that’s where you’ve gotta look,” he tweeted.

News.com.au has contacted Vivd Sydney for comment, however they did not respond at the time of publishing.