Load shedding
Load shedding is a last resort response by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to maintain system stability and security, mitigate damage to infrastructure and to protect customer equipment.
Under the instruction of AEMO, Western Power will undertake manual load shedding by deliberately shutting down power to parts of the electricity network to reduce a predetermined volume of electricity usage to maintain system stability and the supply-demand balance.
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) determines how much power needs to be reduced to maintain system stability.
When power demand needs to be reduced AEMO instructs Western Power to deliberately shed load. We initiate a process of rotational controlled outages (typically 2-hours). Areas are pre-determined to minimise the impact on the community, particularly major health facilities, emergency services and public transport. However, these services can still be affected and should have business continuity arrangements in place.
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) determines how much power needs to be reduced to keep the electricity system stable and has instructed Western Power to shed load on a rotational basis. This happens very quickly and is dynamic in delivery. If you’re affected, we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and encourage you to visit our power outages information to keep-up-to date on estimated restoration times. Each outage is expected to last up to two hours.
The power system may experience different types of power outages. Load shedding is different to local outages (planned or unplanned).
Load shedding is a last resort response by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to maintain system security, mitigate damage to infrastructure and to protect customer equipment. It’s the controlled reduction of electricity supplied to homes and businesses to securely manage the wider power system.
Planned outages are undertaken by Western Power and are prearranged and necessary for routine maintenance, inspections and improvements on various electricity infrastructure.
Local unplanned outages are an interruption to the transmission or distribution of electricity that is unscheduled and can occur as a result of range of causes including: damage to wires caused by storms, lightning strikes, falling trees (or branches), motor accidents, bushfires, and equipment failure.