Consumers urged to help 'Beat the Peak'

5/1/07
A new awareness campaign which encourages consumers to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions has been launched by Energy Minister Francis Logan.
Mr Logan said the 'Beat the Peak' campaign was a simple call-to-action, asking people to use less electricity between 3pm and 6pm - the peak time of the day for electricity consumption.
He said the television, radio and newspaper campaign would begin today and run throughout summer, when peak electricity use was at its highest.
"Millions of dollars have been spent over many years to build sufficient electricity infrastructure to cater for these peak periods," the Minister said.
"In fact, 15 per cent of our network infrastructure has been built to generate enough electricity to meet demand during these peak periods - which total about 2.5 days each year.
"If the same approach was used for the construction of our roads to eliminate any slowing of traffic during peak periods, 14-lane freeways would need to be built into Perth.
"Electricity infrastructure costs would be significantly reduced if the amount of power used at peak times was reduced."
Mr Logan said the campaign would not force WA consumers to take drastic action to limit energy use, but rather encourage them to limit energy use during the peak times, wherever possible.
For example, air-conditioners - sales of which have boomed in WA over the last seven years - could be run more efficiently.
"At the end of a hot day, many people get home and set their air-conditioners to maximum cool," the Minister said.
"However, by simply setting an air-conditioner to 24C or above to cool a house over a slightly longer period, household cooling costs and greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced."
Other tips to conserve household energy are available at http://www.beatthepeak.com.au
Mr Logan said Western Australians had responded well to the five years of successful Waterwise campaigns. The widespread international interest in Al Gore's global warming campaign showed there was now a genuine interest in being energy-aware.
The Minister said 'Beat the Peak', which was jointly funded by Western Power, Synergy, Verve Energy and the Office of Energy, was similar to campaigns conducted in other parts of the world to change energy-use patterns.
Minister's office - 9222 8950