Suddenly next summer: What happens when a heatwave hits in a post-Hazelwood world?

'Extreme heat is a test. It tests people and the systems they rely on, not least the electricity system. So in a post-Hazelwood world, how will the national electricity grid cope during hot days as we seek comfort by cranking up our cooling systems?'

It's a summer's day in 2018, and it's bloody hot. It threatens to be the fourth day in a row the mercury will soar above 40 degrees.

It's still early morning, but power-hungry air-conditioners are already working hard in Melbourne and across the eastern seaboard.

In the mid-1990s, about a quarter of Australians artificially cooled their homes. It's now more than half, with Victorians gobbling up about 80 per cent more electricity on a hot day.

Read Adam Morton’s story in the Melbourne Age - “Suddenly next summer: What happens when a heatwave hits in a post-Hazelwood world?”