Morawa tunes in for Cup final

Until June this year, only 96.9% of Australia could watch SBS. The map did not include the people of Morawa in Western Australia, meaning no one in the town without a satellite dish and pay-tv would have been able to watch the Socceroos take on the world in South Africa.

But thanks to a scheme called SBS Self Help, an SBS digital signal will switc on for the 1,000 or so residents just before the World Cup kicks off on June 11.

Morawa, located about four hours north of Perth and 90 minutes inland from Geraldton, received $50,000 funding to help install an SBS transmitter, while the shire and local community raised a further $25,000.

Morawa Shire Council economic development officer Debbie McIlraith said about 75 per cent of residents had either purchased a digital television or digital set-top-box to receive the SBS signal.

She said the soccer had proved very popular, especially among younger locals, while older residents were relishing the chance to watch the documentary programs available on SBS.

"I think everyone is enjoying the soccer. It is just a shame Australia wasn't in the tournament a bit longer," Mrs McIlraith said.

Australia failed to make it past the group stage, with the Socceroos' campaign unable to recover from a shocking 4-0 loss to Germany in the opening game.

Morawa Shire councillor Gary North, who was behind the application, said he stumbled on the Self Help scheme while attending a local government conference.

"It's another choice and it is free to air, which gives everyone a chance of being able to watch it," Mr North said.

Previously, Morawa received the ABC, the Nine Network-affiliated WIN-TV and GWN, which broadcasts Seven network programs.

SBS's potential audience in the area is set to increase further.

Mrs McIlraith said the transmitter was operating at only 25 per cent of power, to protect the equipment from sudden power surges in the area, but would go to full capacity once those issues were sorted out.

Run by SBS, Self Help provides funding to communities to install transmitters, aerials and other equipment to receive the SBS television and/or radio signal.

SBS engineer Shruti Tripathi said Morawa was the most recent site to receive the digital signal as part of the Self Help scheme, following Broadford in Victoria; Currie, on King Island; and Merriwa in NSW.

Judging by the television ratings, there were plenty of fans in those areas, and beyond, who were up late at night and into the early morning huddled in front of their televisions watching the tournament.

That has led to an increase in energy consumption during times when power use was normally declining, according to figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

AEMO spokesman Paul Bird said the load on the AEMO network, which covers NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, rose by 300 Megawatts after the Socceroos' match against Germany kicked off at 4.30am on June 14.

"Normally, at that time between 4-4.30am we see a reduction in load through to 5.30 in the morning, when people start to get out of bed," Mr Bird explained.

"Certainly in the games that Australia played in, there was generally some sort of change in consumption."

This World Cup was almost certainly the most energy hungry from a viewing perspective, given new plasma televisions consumed about 30 per cent more electricity compared with the old cathode-ray-tube TV sets.

A bitterly cold start to winter, particularly across Victoria and NSW, meant the heater has gotten much more of a workout while matches were on.

Origin Energy retail energy adviser Anne Armansin said households that stayed up night after night watching the World Cup with the heater on may face a shock when opening their next electricity bill.

"We've had a particularly cold winter this season, and I think people could probably expect maybe up to a $50 increase that they can directly attribute to long-term World Cup watching habits," Ms Armansin said.

"I hope people have been sharing some blankets."