Demand for electricity is significantly increasing in WA as more and more businesses and homes connect. As well, peak electricity use is rising, mainly because of the rapid rise in air conditioner use in the network.
All electricity systems are built to provide for peak use (PDF 30kb) and as the peak consumption level rises - even if only for a couple of days a year - the network builds to provide for those short times.
Increasing electricity demand doesn't just mean more electrical infrastructure - it also means more fossil fuels are consumed and more greenhouse gas emissions are produced. Without the widespread availability of alternative green power generation, the key to curbing these trends is to use electricity wisely.
In the 2006/07 summer Western Power was involved in an advertising campaign to raise awareness about peak electricity use. The Beat the Peak campaign was a simple call to action, asking people to reduce electricity use between 3pm and 6pm. Market research into the effectiveness of the campaign found that 98% of people understood the message of the campaign and nearly a third altered their energy use patterns as a result of the advertisements. The campaign's success showed that there is a real appetite in the community to think about energy use, just in the same way as there is for wise water use. Tips of wise electricity use were also widely recalled by the population surveyed in the market research.
Western Power will continue to build infrastructure to provide for peak use times. That is the economic model it works within. However at Western Power we believe we must all be asking a larger question: do we as a community want to keep driving multi million dollar infrastructure investment or modify electricity use patterns to lower the peaks?
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Page update on 28 September 2007
