Sydney, Nov 25 (IANS): Australia's most populous state is facing an elevated risk of blackouts amid a forecast looming heatwave, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) warned on Monday.

AEMO issued blackout risk warnings for the state of New South Wales (NSW), including Sydney, from Tuesday through to Thursday, with electricity demand expected to spike due to hot weather, reports Xinhua news agency.

The maximum temperature in Sydney is forecast to hit 31 degrees Celsius (C) on Tuesday and 33 degrees C on Wednesday. In other parts of the state of 8.4 million people, temperatures are forecast to exceed 39 degrees C.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Sunday issued a heatwave warning for much of the state's densely-populated east coast for three days from Monday.

AEMO said on Monday that electricity demand could surpass supply as people turn on air conditioners, causing blackouts.

At least one generation unit at three of NSW's four coal-fired power plants is currently offline for maintenance or repairs, which AEMO said is exacerbating the blackout risk.

"High temperatures and strong electricity demand, combined with some generation outages, are causing tight electricity supply forecasts in NSW tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday afternoon," an AEMO spokesperson told Nine Entertainment newspapers.

In response to the elevated risk, AEMO said it was taking action to reduce power consumption, including asking major users such as smelters and processing plants to switch off.

If they refuse, AEMO has the power to intervene and force them to switch off.