Perth’s thirst for power hits record high as heatwave bites

A record demand for power is on the cards for Perth again tonight after it hit an all-time high on Wednesday evening.
More than 6000 homes across Perth and Bunbury lost power overnight after the second major heatwave in Perth in less than a month.
Western Power executive manager Peter Kerr forecast the possibility of the highest ever demand for power for either day or night this evening, as the climate continues to play havoc with the grids.
“We’re not in the business of turning people off … we’re doing everything we can to get them back on,” he told Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings.
“The network will, for many reasons, never be able to give you 100 per cent power all the time, so there will be brief pockets of outages.
“That is how networks have been planned and operate all around the world, it’s not just unique to WA.”
Tap PLAY to hear more about the heatwave’s impact on the grid.