High temperatures bring record power consumption

According to Energy Minister Francis Logan, the last three days of high temperatures has seen the largest ever amount of power drawn from the network.

"On Tuesday, we reached a record electricity peak of 3,533MW - nine per cent higher than the previous year," Mr Logan said.

"That was followed by a new peak of 3,575MW on Wednesday and another 3,362MW yesterday.

"Despite these extraordinary figures, the electricity network held up very well, with only small pockets of power interruptions that were generally fixed quickly.

"For example, on Wednesday there were less than 500 people without power in the whole network, which stretches from Kalbarri, Kalgoorlie and south to Ravensthorpe and Albany.

"For most of the day, there were significantly less than that, so for a network of more than 880,000 connections, this is a fantastic outcome during extremely high temperatures."

The Minister said the high peak in energy consumption had been expected due to Western Australia's increasing growth over the last few years.

He said that Western Power had connected 30,000 new homes in the last 12 months.

"These conditions also tested power stations to the limits, however there was adequate generation available to meet requirements at all times," Mr Logan said

"With such high peaks as we have seen this week, it is timely to remind people that every time we consume large amounts of electricity as a community, we are also burning a great deal of fossil fuels to generate this electricity.

"We need to ask ourselves if there is any way we can reduce this electricity use.

"Western Power is spending a record amount in investment in the network and is continuing to make improvements to reduce the likelihood and the duration of power outages.

"I wish to commend all who work in the electricity industry on a job well done."