A method comprising: for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element: collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at an outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt, P/W metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval; repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculating a variance of the mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; comparing variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance. for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element: collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at an outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt, P/W metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval; repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculating a variance of the mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at an outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt, P/W metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval; repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculating a variance of the mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; comparing variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance. <EOS>