A rare total solar eclipse will take place in Exmouth on Western Australia’s north west cape on Thursday, 20 April 2023, and the pressure is on Horizon Power to keep up with increased power demand during the event, which could attract up to 40,000 additional people to the area.
“We expect the increase in population to impact Exmouth, Carnarvon, Denham, and Coral Bay,” a Horizon Power spokesperson said in a statement.
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“With visitors descending on the region from across the country and around the world, we know there will be an increased demand for power across our service area.
“We are doing all we can to ensure we are able to successfully deliver reliable and safe energy.”
While the solar eclipse will last just more than a minute, Horizon Power has been strategically planning, in conjunction with tourism, government and utilities, for this event for the past 15 months.
“There is a risk that the increase in people to the region could result in visitors causing damage to their electricity supply by overloading it with high energy devices,” the spokesperson said.
“To accommodate the increased demand, we are supplying temporary additional electricity generating capacity and adding additional operational staff in Exmouth, Onslow and Denham. However, we need the community’s help to prevent power outages.
“If everyone does their part to conserve power, the only time it will go completely dark is for 62 seconds at 11:27am on April 20th, during the solar eclipse.”
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Horizon Power is encouraging members of the public to:
- Avoid overloading power supplies by not plugging in too many high load devices, such as camper vans or mobile cool rooms. This can help prevent damage to the power supply at individual properties.
- Encourage visitors to follow the same responsible power usage practices.
- Be patient when seeking assistance. Horizon Power’s team may take longer than usual to respond to calls due to the busy period.
