Ausgrid, one of Australia’s largest electricity distributors, has reported that the company is experiencing an unprecedented drop in household power demand.

 

The company, which provides power to much of New South Wales, has announced that energy demand has been dropping steadily by two per cent per year for the last four years, representing the first time power demand dropped since the 1950’s.

 

"If you go right back to the 1950s, residential consumption has continued to rise year on year, and in around 2006, we saw that plateau," Ausgrid energy efficiency specialist Paul Myors told the ABC.

 

Ausgrid has said it believes the steady drop in power consumption is owed to consumers switching to energy efficient products, such as efficient hot shower systems and light bulbs.

 

"One example where we have seen most strongly is with residential hot water because we often separately meter this in households," Mr Myors said.

 

"We've seen reductions even greater than 2 per cent, even up to 8 per cent per year.”

 

The decrease in demand comes after the NSW state-owned electricity supplier announced debts of up to $6 billion following extensive upgrades to infrastructure throughout the state.

 

The report by Ausgrid comes as the Australian Energy Market Operator is expected to announced a drop in power demand of five to six per cent.