Update – As at 10.30am
Powercor crews are continuing to rebuild parts of the electricity network following this week’s severe windstorms, with power expected to be restored to most customers by this evening.
There are currently about 13,000 customers without power in the Powercor network, with just under 11,000 of them within the Kyneton, Woodend, Trentham and Gisborne region.
Crews have been mobilised from other regions to support the major restoration efforts, which includes reconstructing power poles, wires and other infrastructure that was demolished by large trees and branches.
Much of the major repair work is being conducted in areas that were unable to be accessed yesterday due to dangerous conditions, large fallen trees and other debris. Dedicated vegetation teams were needed to cut and remove trees to allow access.
We are still assessing some of the damage in Trentham as we have had difficulties accessing some parts of our network, and are working closely with emergency services in the area.
We expect to restore power to the majority of customers by late today, however some customers will still be without power into the weekend. These customers are likely to be single premise faults, where service wires have been brought down.
We know our customers are doing it tough in these conditions without power and we want to assure customers that we are doing everything to get power back on as safely and as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, we have had reports some of our crews have been receiving abuse from a small number of customers. Our lineys are people with families and loved ones who live in the communities they service. We would ask people to please respect them as they work to restore power.
We will continue updating estimated restoration times at www.powercor.com.au, through our contact centre and providing updates to customers via SMS where we have their details.
We would advise customers to assess their own individual circumstances and determine whether they should seek alternative accommodation arrangements.
The Victorian Government has provided information about what customers can do if a power outage is impacting their health and safety. This advice is available at www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/emergencies-and-coronavirus-covid-19#power-outages
If people do see a fallen powerline, they should always stay well away from them and report them to us immediately on 13 24 12.