Summer Storms And Power Outages

As the heat builds and storms become more frequent, the chances of power cuts increase.

Many residents will remember the multiple power cuts of December 2020, where three outages over Christmas caused 5000 households in the Greater Airlie Beach Area to lose power on December 22, 23 and 28.

Fortunately, since this incident, Ergon have embarked on a $27 million upgrade of the local electricity network, including the Cannonvale substation.

“We took immediate steps to boost the security of the community’s electricity supply by replacing faulty underground cables and constructing a section of overhead network to provide an alternative supply route to get the power back on to customers sooner in the event of further faults,” said an Ergon Energy spokesperson.

“There have been no significant outages at the substation since and the expansion that is underway now will support population growth in years to come.”

Proof of this came when the Whitsunday region reached the record peak load of 469.8 megawatts during a heat wave on March 3 this year, and the system passed the test.

Five of the top six peak loads were recorded in March this year and up to 40 per cent of the load can be attributed to air-conditioning use.

While there is plenty of capacity in the local electricity network to support the community’s needs, customers can save money by being energy efficient.

Here are some energy-saving tips for summer:

• Clean your air-conditioning filters.

• Set your air-conditioner to 25 degrees – it’s more energy-efficient and still comfortable when the outside temperature is more than 30 degrees.

• Keep doors and windows closed when the aircon is running.

• Only air-condition the rooms you are using.

• Fans are much more energy-efficient if you don’t need aircon.

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