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Note for anyone coming along - we don't actually experience frequent brownouts or rolling outages here in Australia, compared to almost everywhere else in the w

Note for anyone coming along - we don't actually experience frequent brownouts or rolling outages here in Australia, compared to almost everywhere else in the world... We have extrememly high grid reliability standards and the grid operator pulls out all the stops when a possible lack of reserve is forecast. There have been the rare cases of load shedding, usually when thermal generators are unexpectadely offline (one a few years ago was when a coal plant actually blew up).

smcleod 2y ago
We really do, they're very common here in Melbourne. Most summers we experience brown outs / load shedding and throughout the year the grid here struggles with changes in load (dimming lights, short-lived UPS activation etc...).
- justinclift 2y ago
  That wasn't my experience when living in Melbourne, though I moved away in 2022.
  - blahlabs 2y ago
    It isn't my experience either, having lived in various suburbs in Melbourne since 2012. Power outages happen, but I've been through maybe half dozen in my time here. Same with brown outs. Not unheard of but far from common. Although I spend my days at the office so maybe I miss some things, but equally I get an email if my home UPS activates and that has happened perhaps twice.
- jhealy 2y ago
  I live in Melbourne (on Jemena’s distribution network) and this isn’t my experience. Our power is very reliable and rarely goes out. Every few years a car hits a pole or something and we get a brief period of quiet time
  - smcleod 2y ago
    Interesting! May I ask what area you lived in (not due to the power distributor, but the age of the infrastructure in the area). The areas I've had issues are Brunswick, Thornbury and Footscray. Folks at work (we're a bit spread out but mostly Melbourne based) often talk of minor outages etc... I actually had some electronics fail quite recently after a number of minor outages and speaking with insurance they were saying it's very common in certain areas where the infrastructure is aging or has recently been struck by lightening. I have noticed the operating voltage in the inner north seems to vary between as low as 217V to 246V, but it's quite frequent you notice the lights dimming in houses round here. I don't think there were any last summer (if you could call it a summer) but usually I'd experience 2-5 (ish) complete outages on hot days, when I spoke to someone in know they said this is normal as they load shed you can experience short outages.
    - seb1204 2y ago
      Who's operating the grid in Melbourne?
      - caf 2y ago
        There are 5 different businesses that own and operate the distribution network in different parts of Melbourne (AusNet, Jemena, Citipower, Powercor and United Energy). AusNet owns & maintains the transmission network in Victoria, but it is under the operational control of AEMO. Dispatch of generation and FCAS instructions is NEM-wide and the responsibility of AEMO.
        TeaBrain 2y ago
        Interesting that there are so many different businesses responsible for supplying electricity in Melbourne. This might explain why several people have mentioned having different experiences with the reliability of the grid in Melbourne. In Chicago, Commonwealth Edison is responsible for the entirety of the grid.
    - caf 2y ago
- notachatbot123 2y ago
  Can you point to at least 10 different trustworthy sources about this?
  - smcleod 2y ago
    Can you point to at least 10 different trustworthy sources that show the reliability and quality of power? Specifically in Thornbury, Footscray and Brunswick.
- andyferris 2y ago
  I feel like this must be a Melbourne thing. I haven’t experienced any such issues since the 90’s (apart from local lightning strikes causing brief outages).
grecy 2y ago
You also pay extremely high prices for electricity because the big coal plant operators are in bed with the government
- seb1204 2y ago
  Please check your facts. AEMO and others are tightening the thumb screws on coal plants more and more. Replacing the rotation mass for frequency stability is another challenge.
dzhiurgis 2y ago
> when a coal plant actually blew up Is that when entire states power (2gw) went from being produced to being consumed as a massive electric motor to 50k rpm and shooting into sky?
- stephen_g 2y ago
  Yes, that one! They made a whole video about how it happened: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vbLvjFohK9g&pp=ygUJQ2FsbGlkZSBj https://youtube.com/watch?v=vbLvjFohK9g&pp=ygUJQ2FsbGlkZSBj
seb1204 2y ago
Thanks, NSW resident, I was going to write the same. The Australian grid is at the forefront %age of renewable energy in the grid. This brings new challenges with it to which the answer is more batteries and more wind and solar.
- feisty0630 2y ago
  But the NT (where the cable is running to) isn't connected to the Australian grid (which is effectively the East Coast, SA, and Tasmania), and there are no plans to do so. The Darwin grid is currently ~4-10% renewables depending on the day.
  - smcleod 2y ago
    ~4-10% ! Jesus that's bad!
senectus1 2y ago
No outages like that here in Perth either.

smcleod 2y ago

We really do, they're very common here in Melbourne. Most summers we experience brown outs / load shedding and throughout the year the grid here struggles with changes in load (dimming lights, short-lived UPS activation etc...).

justinclift 2y ago
That wasn't my experience when living in Melbourne, though I moved away in 2022.
- blahlabs 2y ago
  It isn't my experience either, having lived in various suburbs in Melbourne since 2012. Power outages happen, but I've been through maybe half dozen in my time here. Same with brown outs. Not unheard of but far from common. Although I spend my days at the office so maybe I miss some things, but equally I get an email if my home UPS activates and that has happened perhaps twice.
jhealy 2y ago
I live in Melbourne (on Jemena’s distribution network) and this isn’t my experience. Our power is very reliable and rarely goes out. Every few years a car hits a pole or something and we get a brief period of quiet time
- smcleod 2y ago
  Interesting! May I ask what area you lived in (not due to the power distributor, but the age of the infrastructure in the area). The areas I've had issues are Brunswick, Thornbury and Footscray. Folks at work (we're a bit spread out but mostly Melbourne based) often talk of minor outages etc... I actually had some electronics fail quite recently after a number of minor outages and speaking with insurance they were saying it's very common in certain areas where the infrastructure is aging or has recently been struck by lightening. I have noticed the operating voltage in the inner north seems to vary between as low as 217V to 246V, but it's quite frequent you notice the lights dimming in houses round here. I don't think there were any last summer (if you could call it a summer) but usually I'd experience 2-5 (ish) complete outages on hot days, when I spoke to someone in know they said this is normal as they load shed you can experience short outages.
  - seb1204 2y ago
    Who's operating the grid in Melbourne?
    - caf 2y ago
      There are 5 different businesses that own and operate the distribution network in different parts of Melbourne (AusNet, Jemena, Citipower, Powercor and United Energy). AusNet owns & maintains the transmission network in Victoria, but it is under the operational control of AEMO. Dispatch of generation and FCAS instructions is NEM-wide and the responsibility of AEMO.
      - TeaBrain 2y ago
        Interesting that there are so many different businesses responsible for supplying electricity in Melbourne. This might explain why several people have mentioned having different experiences with the reliability of the grid in Melbourne. In Chicago, Commonwealth Edison is responsible for the entirety of the grid.
  - caf 2y ago
notachatbot123 2y ago
Can you point to at least 10 different trustworthy sources about this?
- smcleod 2y ago
  Can you point to at least 10 different trustworthy sources that show the reliability and quality of power? Specifically in Thornbury, Footscray and Brunswick.
andyferris 2y ago
I feel like this must be a Melbourne thing. I haven’t experienced any such issues since the 90’s (apart from local lightning strikes causing brief outages).

grecy 2y ago

You also pay extremely high prices for electricity because the big coal plant operators are in bed with the government

seb1204 2y ago
Please check your facts. AEMO and others are tightening the thumb screws on coal plants more and more. Replacing the rotation mass for frequency stability is another challenge.

dzhiurgis 2y ago

> when a coal plant actually blew up Is that when entire states power (2gw) went from being produced to being consumed as a massive electric motor to 50k rpm and shooting into sky?

stephen_g 2y ago
Yes, that one! They made a whole video about how it happened: https://youtube.com/watch?v=vbLvjFohK9g&pp=ygUJQ2FsbGlkZSBj https://youtube.com/watch?v=vbLvjFohK9g&pp=ygUJQ2FsbGlkZSBj

seb1204 2y ago

Thanks, NSW resident, I was going to write the same. The Australian grid is at the forefront %age of renewable energy in the grid. This brings new challenges with it to which the answer is more batteries and more wind and solar.

feisty0630 2y ago
But the NT (where the cable is running to) isn't connected to the Australian grid (which is effectively the East Coast, SA, and Tasmania), and there are no plans to do so. The Darwin grid is currently ~4-10% renewables depending on the day.
- smcleod 2y ago
  ~4-10% ! Jesus that's bad!

senectus1 2y ago

No outages like that here in Perth either.