Power Risks for your Business
October 2025
As we approach another Australian summer, grid conditions are under strain. Severe weather, record breaking heatwaves and ageing infrastructure are increasing the risk of unplanned power outages across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
For organisations that manage critical loads—such as data centres, EDGE, cooling systems and safety infrastructure—the cost of downtime can be enormous. Gartner estimates that each minute of unplanned outage can cost up to $8,595 AUD.
Power Quality Group specialises in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and thermal solutions that help IT managers and facility managers maintain power autonomy to critical loads when the grid fails. To help you prepare for the coming heat, we’ve put together key insights and steps you can take now.
| Factor |
Evidence |
Implication |
| Severe weather & cyclones |
Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March 2025 left hundreds of thousands without power in southeast Queensland. |
Sudden storms and heatwaves can knock out transmission lines with little warning. |
| Ageing grid infrastructure |
Queensland’s electricity network is decades old; faults are more frequent and repairs/maintenance cause planned outages. |
Longer restoration times and higher likelihood of failures during peak demand. |
| High demand & transition to renewables |
Record-setting heatwaves and the retirement of coal fired power plants strain supply, prompting predictions of widespread blackouts in NSW
and Victoria. |
Less reserve capacity and potential rolling blackouts/brownouts impact businesses. |
| Cyber threats |
Experts warn that cyberattacks could trigger “cyber blackouts,” targeting Australia’s increasingly digital grid. |
Outages could last longer and cause data loss, security breaches and operational disruption. |
Recommended actions for IT & facility managers
-
Assess critical load autonomy and confirm UPS battery capacity covers at least the time needed for orderly shutdowns or generator
changeover.
- Perform preventative maintenance on UPS batteries and thermal systems to ensure they handle high temperatures.
- Use official outage maps (Energex for SE Queensland, Ergon for regional areas) to track realtime disruptions.
-
Plan for extended outages by developing incident response plans and considering portable battery storage or onsite generators.
-
Protect against cyber and surge risks by updating firmware, tightening cybersecurity protocols and adding surge protection.
- Educate stakeholders on emergency procedures and communication plans.
Stay ahead of the heat. Reach out to our team to ensure your critical operations remain uninterrupted this summer.
Author: Josh Melvin
- Rising summer blackout risks: Queensland has experienced several large weather driven blackouts in 2025, including Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March and an incident in September that damaged transmission lines; these events left thousands of homes without power ecoflow.com. AEMO and analysts warn that extreme heatwaves and ageing infrastructure in NSW and Victoria could cause widespread summer blackouts ecoflow.com.
- High cost of downtime: According to Gartner (via Medianet), unplanned power outages can cost businesses up to US$5 600 per minute newshub.medianet.com.au. Cyber‑related outages (attacks on the grid) are an emerging risk, and Australia’s ageing grid makes it more vulnerablenewshub.medianet.com.au.
- Impact on mission-critical operations: Blackouts disrupt communications, cooling systems, security and data centres. Ageing infrastructure and delayed replacements mean there’s less reserve capacity, making the grid more fragile ecoflow.com. Rolling blackouts and brownouts can severely impact plant equipment and critical loads insuranceadviser.net.
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