Curtains closed, devices off as government declares power ‘emergency’
By Sean Parnell
Public servants in Queensland government buildings were ordered to take extraordinary measures to reduce pressure on the electricity network in an effort “to avoid forced blackouts in selected suburbs or regions”.
In an email sent out on Wednesday, the state Department of Public Works and Housing revealed the increased risk of power shortages would require public servants to consume less electricity on Thursday and Friday between 6am and 6pm.
Queensland is in the grip of a three-day heatwave, which has resulted in increased electricity consumption through the use of air-conditioning and pool pumps, causing thousands of homes in Brisbane to lose power on Wednesday.
With temperatures in Brisbane set to hit 33 degrees on Thursday, and 37 degrees on Friday, there were fears Energex would be hit with record demand, nearly a year to the day after the last peak demand period triggered blackouts in Brisbane’s south-east.
On the day Treasurer David Janetzki handed down his budget update, his department expected the public sector to abide the little-known Queensland Electricity Supply Emergency Response Plan.
However, the order was retracted once the state’s energy consumption was revised, and after the existence of the order was publicised.
“The department was following old protocols from the former Labor government, and it wasn’t necessary for it to be sent because there was enough supply increase to meet demand,” Janetzki said.
“So it’s good to be responsible with energy use, but it certainly wasn’t necessarily for it to be sent.”
Public servants had been asked to implement “all or some” of a series of measures, which include running laptops on batteries only and turning off second computer screens.
“Close all blinds or curtains to minimise heat,” the email recommended, while also urging public servants to “turn off unnecessary lighting”.
Onsite managers in government-owned and leased buildings were advised they could also isolate lifts and alter air-conditioning settings and timing.
The email was sent only weeks after Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie described similar demand-side management measures – where consumers are given discounts for agreeing to let Energex remotely control their air-conditioning if required – as “unacceptable”.
“If you’re in Queensland, the asset should run, the grid should operate,” he said at the time.
While many CBD towers have backup diesel generators, entire suburbs can be blacked out due to the network tripping, or a more rare intervention known as load-shedding.
The LNP government has vowed to keep coal-fired power stations operating for longer to provide what it says would be more sustainable supply at lower cost to consumers.
Bleijie last week used his powers to call in a wind farm project and ordered his department not to approve three others until he could consider the network and environmental consequences of renewable energy.
Energex recently noted the peak demand period a year ago coincided with overcast conditions, when less power was produced by rooftop solar, complicating the network’s ability to respond.
“There has been considerable volatility in Queensland economic conditions, weather patterns and consumer behaviour, which all have a strong impact on peak demand,” Energex said in its annual forecasting document.
The network was expected to be put under more pressure on Friday.
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