This week’s heatwave contributed to a new record in Queensland with demand on Powerlink’s electricity transmission network reaching an all-time peak this afternoon.
The peak of 9262 megawatts (MW) was reached at 4pm with forecasts showing demand will potentially continue to rise through until 5pm.
Demand on Powerlink Queensland’s network has been driven by a combination of high temperatures and strong demand from LNG processing facilities in the Surat Basin.
“Today we’ve seen a new record demand driven by people escaping the heat and turning on air conditioning and other appliances to keep cool,” Ms York said.
“Growth in the LNG loads on Powerlink’s network was also a key contributor to the peak demand, with more than 600 megawatts powering the new LNG facilities in south-western Queensland.
“The previous record peak demand was 9097MW in February 2016.”
Ms York said Powerlink’s transmission network had reliably met the high demand without any issues.
“We plan and operate the network to allow for these hot conditions, particularly around this time of year,” Ms York said.
“While it was a record peak demand, Powerlink’s transmission network performed well and provided Queenslanders the electricity they needed to try and beat the high temperatures.”
Peak demand records
- 1 February 2016. Total Queensland load – 9097MW. LNG load – 439MW
- 18 January 2017. Total Queensland load – 9262MW. LNG load – 600MW
