Energy Minister denies record electricity demand led to blackouts

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says there was a record demand for electricity Tuesday night, but claims there was enough supply to meet demand.

Speaking to Tom Elliott on 3AW Mornings, she says the problem was at the “poles and wires end”.

Press PLAY to hear her take on Tuesday’s blackouts

“They’ve [the power companies] had lots of blown fuses, lines damaged by fallen trees and in some areas … heat stress was a really big factor,” she said.

“We’ve been saying to the energy companies that they need to have better resilience plans in place. We’re in fact going to legislate for that,” she added.

AusNet spokesperson Karen Winsbury has backed the Energy Minister’s claim.

“There certainly was plenty of power in the network … the challenges came with the distribution system,” she said.

Press PLAY to hear how many AusNet customers were without power this morning

Tom Elliott on the ‘idiotic’ claim made by Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio 

Image: Nine News, 3AW