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Spy agency forced to operate on generators during heatwave
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Australia's electronic spy agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, was forced to rely on diesel backup generators when the nation's power supply came under intense pressure during last month's heatwave. The Department of Defence Directorate is a heavy user of power, probably related to the use of powerful computers.
ASD shifted to generators as a precautionary measure because it was concerned about the reliability of the grid, where the local power supplier feared it would be required to conduct rolling blackouts across Canberra, where ASD is housed, to meet the demands of the Australian Energy Market Operator to help stabilise the network.
However it suffered only minor outages after households, businesses and government agencies helped reduce demand.
Politicians are using the event to argue about renewable energy.
There are no indications anyone missed out on being spied on while this occurred.
