Friday 21 Oct: Update on Powercor’s preparation and restoration work in northern Victoria

With more heavy rainfalls and storms predicted to hit parts of Victoria this weekend, Powercor is encouraging customers to be prepared for potential outages and know what to do if the power does go out.

In preparation, Powercor has completed work to minimise the risk of flooding at critical assets across parts of north and north-west Victoria.

Extra crews are on standby to respond if outages do occur. However, if faults do occur, our response may be longer than usual due to limited road access and flooding.

Advice on planning for power outages

1. Look after your health – particularly if you rely on life support equipment and need a back-up plan
2. Stay connected – by having mobile phones and laptop computers charged to stay connected with family and friends
3. Beware of fallen powerlines – always assume they are live, stay 10m away and call us immediately
4. Have back-up energy ready – like batteries, lamps and barbeques and have your eskies ready
5. Stay up to date – visit our website to choose your preferences for getting notifications from Powercor about power supplies

More information is available at www.powercor.com.au/power-outages-and-faults/prepare-for-power-outages

Be safe when working near powerlines

During flood clean-up activities, it is important to be mindful of hazards including working near powerlines.  Equipment and machinery must remain at a safe distance from powerlines.

No Go Zones are designed to assist people to maintain a safe working distance from electricity assets. Guidance is available for what to do when No Go Zone clearances cannot be met.

If the work site contains electrical powerlines, then before any work begins, check the relevant No Go Zone safety procedures.  Information regarding No Go Zones can be located on our website.

Applications for No Go Zone assessment can be submitted online – visit the mySupply portal to submit an application.

We are focused on supporting the flood recovery and ensuring this process is efficient. To assist with prioritising these applications, it is requested that applicants mention flood related activity in their submission.

It is also important to remember to stay away from any fallen powerlines.  Fallen powerlines can be deadly. You need to keep well away from them and any objects like fences or trees that may be in contact with the wires. If you see fallen or low hanging powerlines stay at least 10 metres away for your own safety. Always assume a fallen powerline is live and report it to us immediately on 13 24 12.

Also, when moving in and around electricity assets, including by boats, please stay well away from electricity assets such as substations. All electricity assets should be considered live at all times and are extremely dangerous.

On-the-ground assistance

Our Mobile Emergency Response Vehicle (MERV) will be based at the Bendigo Relief Centre, (Showgrounds) today and over the weekend.

Powercor representatives will be available to provide local residents information and advice on reconnecting properties, updates about electricity supplies as well as charging points for mobile devices.

Advice on returning to properties

The combination of electricity and water is very dangerous, so it’s essential this is done safely.

As flood levels recede in some areas, we are urging residents who are beginning to return to their homes to follow a few simple steps.

For customers returning to their properties after flooding we advise:

1. Proceed with caution – don’t assume your power is disconnected and do not try to operate any electrical appliances if there has been flood damage.
2. Get a Registered Electrical Contractor to check your appliances and switchboard to confirm they are safe to use.
3. If you’ve been disconnected by us, then your Registered Electrical Contractor will need to provide us with a certificate of electrical safety following their inspection. We’ll reconnect the service remotely.

Advice on what to do if you are impacted by flooding is available via our Flood Response page.

Power outages and asset inspections

Over coming days, our crews will be inspecting electricity assets across flood-affected regions as water levels recede.

If assets are damaged and need repairing, we may need to turn off power to some customers to allow our crews to safely conduct this work.

We will endeavour to inform customers ahead of this work via SMS or our website, however there may be times we need to turn off supply off supply immediately due to a safety risk.

We encourage all customers to be prepared for potential outages and know what to do if your power does go out.

We thank our customers for their understanding as we conduct this critical work.