An early cold snap across Canberra in the past few days has triggered a slight rise in power consumption as heaters are turned on earlier than usual, latest Evoenergy data shows.
With the weekend temperature reaching as low as -2.3 degrees, Evoenergy spokeswoman Samantha Lloyd said there had been a rise but it was unclear how much was directly driven by the cold weather.
"When we look at electricity consumption over the weekend compared to the same time last year, we can see that there was an increase in electricity demand at evening peak load on Sunday," Ms Lloyd said.
"However on Saturday it was less than the same time last year.
"So we haven't seen a huge uptick in load on our electricity network that can be directly attributable to the cooler weather."
Temperatures dropped below zero again on Tuesday, reaching a low of minus 1.1 degrees just before 6am.
The Bureau of Meteorology also forecast frost across the Canberra region.
Ms Lloyd said gas consumption over the weekend compared with the same time last year was slightly higher than last year.
"But we cannot confirm if it was consumed at a residential or commercial level," she said.
Ms Lloyd said a suburb-by-suburb breakdown could not be provided but "it's important to note that any increases in energy consumption could be due to a number of factors such as changes in weather patterns (colder than usual weather), network conditions, or an increase in the number of network users between years".
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"We've also observed an increase in batteries and solar PV systems installed and connected to the network, which alters energy usage patterns between the years," she said.
With Canberra's temperature forecast to be between 1 and 20 degrees for the rest of the week, meteorologist Helen Reid said the autumn cold that usually came at the end of April had been caused by a significant cold front moving through from "a long way south".
"We had an icy blast from down towards the pole, which has sent really cold air for this season," Ms Reid said.
Ms Reid said the cold air will remain for some time.
"Wednesday won't be as cold as previous nights, it will be warmer and almost average," she said.
"But it will be cold again by the end of the week.
Asked about energy-saving tips for residents, ActewAGL referred to one of its blog posts advising residents to "get on the front foot for winter" with a few energy saving tips.
"If you have tiled, wood or slab flooring, lock in the heat by adding an area rug," ActewAGL states on its website.
"If you have west-facing rooms in your house, leave your curtains and blinds open during the day," it stated.
"Your walls, floors and furniture will soak up the warmth of the afternoon sun, reducing your need for heating. Just make sure to close them again once the day is done.
"Speaking of containing the warmth, make sure you minimise the space you heat - only heat the rooms you're using by closing all doors to unused rooms such as the laundry, bathrooms and spare bedrooms."
