Update on power outages – 23, 24 March 2023

10.30am – 24 March

Update on power outages in Victoria’s north, west and central region.

Power has now been restored to most homes and businesses in Victoria’s north, central and western regions following yesterday’s major storms.

Crews will continue working throughout today to repair damaged poles, wires and other assets so they can get power back on to about 202 customers.

About 100 customers are within the Shepparton region, which was hit hard by a storm cell yesterday afternoon.

Powercor line workers from Echuca, Bendigo and Cobram have been mobilised to Shepparton to assist local crews attend 36 separate faults.

The Geelong region also remains one of the hardest hit areas, with about 31 customers still off supply. Crews are now responding to about 19 faults in the area.

We expect to restore power to most customers by today.

We understand it is frustrating to be without power and are doing everything we can to safely repair the network and get back on as quickly as possible.

We will keep people updated on restoration times via our outage map, SMS and our customer centre.

If people see a fallen powerline, stay at least 10 metres from it and report it immediately to us on 13 24 12.

5pm – 23 March

Powercor crews are continuing to repair damaged electrical assets and restore power to about 7,000 homes and businesses after today’s storms.

Early this afternoon, a storm cell hit the Shepparton region, bringing down poles and wires.

Powercor has mobilised extra crews and are working to get power on to about 5,000 customers in the Kyabram, Mooroopna and Shepparton areas.

In the Kyabram area, about five poles have been damaged by lightning, while in other areas trees have brought down lines and cut power to homes.

We have also had reports of a roof hitting lines and causing damage to the power network in Shepparton.

Since this morning, Powercor has restored power to more than 50,000 customers across western and central Victoria.

Our crews are responding to over 180 separate jobs and this is expected to rise as we patrol the network.

Given the extent of the damage, we do expect some customers will be without power into tomorrow.

We thank all our customers who have been affected by these storms for their understanding as we work as safely and as quickly as possible to get power back on.

We will keep people updated on restoration times via our outage map, SMS and our customer centre.

If people see a fallen powerline, stay at least 10 metres from it and report it immediately to us on 13 24 12.

2.30pm

Update on power outages across central, northern and western Victoria  

Powercor crews are working to restore power to more than 14,000 homes and businesses as storms continue rolling across the network.

Almost 9000 customers are off supply in the Mooroopna and Shepparton area due to a significant storm cell that swept through those communities around 2pm.

Since 7am, more than 12,500 ground lightning strikes have been recorded in our network, causing damage to poles, powerlines and other electrical infrastructure.

The hardest hit areas have been the Shepparton, Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat regions and the western suburbs.

Extra crews are on the ground responding to more than 120 separate faults. In some cases, poles will need to be replaced and powerlines and other equipment repaired.

Since this morning, our crews and control room operators have been able to restore power to over 50,000 customers.

We are keeping customers updated via our outage map, SMS and our customer centre.

Lightning has also brought down powerlines. If you see a fallen powerline, stay at least 10 metres from it and report it immediately to us on 13 24 12.

We are encouraging all customers to be prepared and know what they would do if the power goes out.

Background 

Take steps to prepare if the power goes out. This could include:

• Charge mobile phones, laptop computers and portable back-up batteries
• Know how to connect to your mobile phone hotspot
• Back up computer files
• Have battery powered lamps or torches available
• Know how to open garage doors and gates manually if they don’t have battery back-up
• If you plan to use a diesel generator, make sure it’s fully fuelled, operational and you know how to safely operate it.
• Have a battery-powered radio available to keep updated on weather conditions and power outages
• Have plenty of water available if your supply relies on power
• Download the VicEmergency app and keep emergency phone numbers handy.

12pm

Powercor crews are working to restore power to just over 12,000 homes and businesses after this morning’s major storms.

Since 7am, more than 12,500 ground lightning strikes have been recorded in our network, causing damage to poles, powerlines and other electrical infrastructure.

The hardest hit areas are in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat regions and the western suburbs.

Extra crews are on the ground responding to more than 105 separate faults. In some cases, poles will need to be replaced and powerlines and other equipment repaired.

Since this morning, our crews and control room operators have been able to restore power to over 40,000 customers.

We expect to restore power to most customers today and will keep them updated via our outage map, SMS and our customer centre.

Lightning has also brought down powerlines. If you see a fallen powerline, stay at least 10 metres from it and report it immediately to us on 13 24 12.

With more storms on the way, we are encouraging all customers to be prepared and know what they would do if the power goes out.

Background 

Take steps to prepare if the power goes out. This could include:

• Charge mobile phones, laptop computers and portable back-up batteries
• Know how to connect to your mobile phone hotspot
• Back up computer files
• Have battery powered lamps or torches available
• Know how to open garage doors and gates manually if they don’t have battery back-up
• If you plan to use a diesel generator, make sure it’s fully fuelled, operational and you know how to safely operate it.
• Have a battery-powered radio available to keep updated on weather conditions and power outages
• Have plenty of water available if your supply relies on power
• Download the VicEmergency app and keep emergency phone numbers handy.