When disasters strike, home batteries could be a lifeline

MELBOURNE: (Dec 23) Extreme weather is placing greater strain on Australia’s power grids. In 2022, the record-breaking Northern Rivers floods blacked out almost 70,000 households. A powerful storm in 2024 cut electricity to more than half a million Victorians. In 2025, Cyclone Alfred left 320,000 homes without power.

Large-scale power outages often coincide with mass evacuations. During the Black Summer megafires, tens of thousands of people fled.

Extreme weather will become more common and more extreme as the climate changes. Traditional far-flung power grids are often vulnerable to disasters. Trees fall on power lines, torrential rains cause outages, and bushfires can melt transformers.