starlight7 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 As soon as we get hot weather out come the power cuts in Australia. I was brought up in post war London and could count on one hand the number of power cuts we got. Here it averages one a month, more in hot weather. Lots of excuses but no politician seems to be able to assist. It seems to have started when they privatised power. Obviously they want our money, lots of it ( we have the most expensive electricity in the world ) but don’t care about their customers at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Where in Australia are you? I've lived in Sydney and Melbourne for over 35 years and rarely experienced a power cut. In fact, they had to switch off the power briefly in our building for some reason recently and I realised I didn't even possess candles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 I know last week Rob said the neighbours were out for 3 days, around 8 houses but they never found out why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 6 or 7 years ago we used to get them if a storm came through, the longest we were off was 2 days in the big floods a few years ago, nightmare when the water pump is electric, you cant even flush a loo! I remember Gary taking soap up to the pool to have a swim / wash . Touch wood this last couple of years we havent had many and if we have they have only been for minutes.( Hope ive not just jinxed myself,lol) Cal x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 We get them all the time and I always ring and ask why. You wouldn’t believe some of the excuses. I live in Eastern suburbs Melbourne. Last one was just before Christmas and was “probably a possum “ Yair right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 6 hours ago, starlight7 said: As soon as we get hot weather out come the power cuts in Australia. I was brought up in post war London and could count on one hand the number of power cuts we got. Here it averages one a month, more in hot weather. Lots of excuses but no politician seems to be able to assist. It seems to have started when they privatised power. Obviously they want our money, lots of it ( we have the most expensive electricity in the world ) but don’t care about their customers at all. I thought this one was because they purchase "green energy" from SA and somewhere the grid broke down like it often does in SA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 It's difficult / expensive to store electricity. If you have a large fluctuation in electricity use, you either need hydro to store, or you need surplus power generation on standby, which is expensive. So they try and predict peak use, and sometimes get it wrong. I guess that's why solar would be good for Australia, as it provides power when you need it. Although the cells lose efficiency when they get too hot. Plus Aust has other problems to deal with. Dust buildup can cause shorts. Plus I think Australian electricians don't work live, whereas they tend to work live more in the UK. Or so I was told, but I'm not an electrician. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Returnhome Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 11 hours ago, Marisawright said: Where in Australia are you? I've lived in Sydney and Melbourne for over 35 years and rarely experienced a power cut. In fact, they had to switch off the power briefly in our building for some reason recently and I realised I didn't even possess candles. Yeah, rarely experienced them when I lived in Sydney. However, where I live now in a semi-rural area in the UK. Every time there is a bit of wind.... lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 18 hours ago, starlight7 said: As soon as we get hot weather out come the power cuts in Australia. I was brought up in post war London and could count on one hand the number of power cuts we got. Here it averages one a month, more in hot weather. Lots of excuses but no politician seems to be able to assist. It seems to have started when they privatised power. Obviously they want our money, lots of it ( we have the most expensive electricity in the world ) but don’t care about their customers at all. There isn't as much power generating capability due to coal power plants being shut down due to greenies pushing renewable energy. Victoria closed down the Hazlewood power plant which is why you are now getting blackouts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 The longest we went without was in Cairns after Cyclone Yasi, over 2 weeks. The shops were out so you couldn’t pay via card only cash but the ATM’s were out because there was no power. You couldn’t get fuel because petrol pumps don’t work without power. ‘So basically if a cyclone is coming always have cash in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobj Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 I bought a 3.5 kva generator, just in case... Cheers, Bobj. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Bobj said: I bought a 3.5 kva generator, just in case... Cheers, Bobj. Good idea, haven’t thought of that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 4 hours ago, Bobj said: I bought a 3.5 kva generator, just in case... Cheers, Bobj. We thought about backing the house up to a generator, for at least water, but have just never got around to it. The house across the road is backed up and last time we did lose power it was at night and when you looked out of the window you could see their TV reflection,lol, so frustrating when i was sat twiddling thumbs,lol. Cal x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 18 hours ago, Quoll said: I thought this one was because they purchase "green energy" from SA and somewhere the grid broke down like it often does in SA 19 hours ago, starlight7 said: We get them all the time and I always ring and ask why. You wouldn’t believe some of the excuses. I live in Eastern suburbs Melbourne. Last one was just before Christmas and was “probably a possum “ Yair right. Easy. The coal fired generators in Vic are so worn out that they’re inherently unreliable. SA kept Vic going through the extreme heat last year through the interconnect. SA now has the cheapest wholesale electricity in the country. They’re having the last laugh... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 59 minutes ago, calNgary said: We thought about backing the house up to a generator, for at least water, but have just never got around to it. The house across the road is backed up and last time we did lose power it was at night and when you looked out of the window you could see their TV reflection,lol, so frustrating when i was sat twiddling thumbs,lol. Cal x Some of the properties in Cairns did that. I think there are only certain things you can run through it, I can’t remember why but I’m sure someone here will know or remember. I don’t think it was voltage but something else. I’ve no idea it was over ten years ago and with modern technology things have probably changed now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 On 31/01/2020 at 15:09, starlight7 said: As soon as we get hot weather out come the power cuts in Australia. I was brought up in post war London and could count on one hand the number of power cuts we got. Here it averages one a month, more in hot weather. Lots of excuses but no politician seems to be able to assist. It seems to have started when they privatised power. Obviously they want our money, lots of it ( we have the most expensive electricity in the world ) but don’t care about their customers at all. Where are you located? 15 years in Australia, lived in 2 states and travelled to them all. Can count the amount of power cuts on 1 hand and only lasted a few hours in each case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 1 minute ago, Collie said: Where are you located? 15 years in Australia, lived in 2 states and travelled to them all. Can count the amount of power cuts on 1 hand and only lasted a few hours in each case. You are very lucky then. Maybe you have always lived close to the city?Parts of SE Melbourne use to always go down, Cairns always when a storm came through, we would be left for hours, a Cyclone goes through you could be left for days, where we are now in Queensland we have lived 3 years and probably lost power 8 times or more. You need to remember power lines are above ground and not below. So any strong winds, lightning strikes can easily take the power out. Collie just because you live in a state and haven’t had a power outage doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t, you can live in the same suburb, even street as someone and they can have lost power and yours can be on. For example let’s look at Energex for SE Queensland for January just scroll down and then tell me there are no power cuts. Remembering this is only a small area of Queensland and doesn’t represent the whole of Qld https://twitter.com/Energex?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 I didn't say there are no power cuts anywhere ever. My point was that IME, Australia is far from a 3rd world country when it comes to power reliability as the OP was trying to imply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 8 minutes ago, Collie said: I didn't say there are no power cuts anywhere ever. My point was that IME, Australia is far from a 3rd world country when it comes to power reliability as the OP was trying to imply. Well it seems the OP was correct according to the Age Newspaper, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/power-company-warns-of-blackouts-as-heat-stretches-grid-20200131-p53wmo.html and I’m afraid however much I love Australia I agree, the grids should be able to cope. ‘It’s not just the electric, our internet dropped to 68th in the latest reports and placed 32 out of the 35 OECD nations for speed. That’s if you can get internet at all. We are lucky where we live but the neighbours can’t get a mobile signal nor can they get NBN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collie Posted February 1, 2020 Share Posted February 1, 2020 4 minutes ago, The Pom Queen said: Well it seems the OP was correct according to the Age Newspaper, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/power-company-warns-of-blackouts-as-heat-stretches-grid-20200131-p53wmo.html and I’m afraid however much I love Australia I agree, the grids should be able to cope. ‘It’s not just the electric, our internet dropped to 68th in the latest reports and placed 32 out of the 35 OECD nations for speed. That’s if you can get internet at all. We are lucky where we live but the neighbours can’t get a mobile signal nor can they get NBN. That's why I asked where they were? All anybody can do is speak to their own experience and I have experienced minimal issues in 15 years mostly in NSW and now WA. Far from 3rd world experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobHatton Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Try living in NZ! When we were there, even in a slight rain shower the power went off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 When we lived in Tassie there were no problems in the 1980s I have to say- and it was North West, so pretty remote. We are certainly not remote where we are now though. Guess its the luck of the draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 10 hours ago, starlight7 said: When we lived in Tassie there were no problems in the 1980s I have to say- and it was North West, so pretty remote. We are certainly not remote where we are now though. Guess its the luck of the draw. We are in north west Tassie and we've had some real storms with gale force winds off the Bass Strait but have never lost power. We had it cut off for a couple of hours a while ago but we were pre-warned about it. Something to do with work that was being done at the local power station. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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