They call it “demand management”. We call it “1000 small blackouts”. Sydney people paid to “switch off”.

Some people in Sydney will be paid to not use electricity in peak periods

Instead of a big blackout the plan now is to have lots of little “by choice” blackouts at the appliance level. It’s smarter than crashing the grid, but ponder what we’ve swapped –once electricity was cheap and “all the time” and now after this discount it will still be more expensive but also “not there when you need it”. Let’s all cheer for progress.

Cashing in for slightly less obscene electricity bills? How low is that bar on our expectations.

Sydney households to cash in for turning off appliances

Houses and business in some high-growth Sydney suburbs will be offered payments to dial down or switch off appliances during peak demand periods under a scheme being trialled by the state’s biggest distribution network.

Ausgrid is planning the demand management trial for up to 10 suburbs across the city — including Alexandria, Redfern, Auburn, Kingsford and Waterloo — over summer in a bid to reduce the peak load on its network.

It is expected to cost around $1.5 million in payments to households and business and to involve up to 1300 […]