MELBOURNE: Sydney residents were urged on Thursday to conserve power in the evening as much as possible to avert blackouts, one day after Australia suspended its spot electricity market due to unscheduled outages at ageing coal-fired utilities.

The Australian Energy Market Operator said it was still too early to say when the market would resume normal operations but added that power capacity reserves had improved in New South Wales.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen told households in the state to save power without sacrificing essentials such as heating.