Update on power outages in western Victoria

As at 9.45am

Powercor crews are working to restore power to about 322 homes and businesses in southern and western Victoria impacted by wild weather yesterday.

Fallen trees have damaged power infrastructure in Woodend South and Gellibrand, impacting 98 and 76 customers respectively.

A generator will be connected to supply power to customers in Woodend by early afternoon as repairs are expected to take a number of days. In Gellibrand, repairs will continue through today as we work to safely clear powerlines of trees with restoration expected by late afternoon.

Last night, Powercor crews were able to re-energise Castlemaine Zone Substation after flood water levels dropped significantly. Power was safely restored to 9,800 customers just after 11am last night.

We will continue monitoring water levels around the Castlemaine Zone Substation as well as other critical infrastructure across the CitiPower and Powercor networks as the flood event continues.

Leading up to this week’s weather event, we have been taking proactive steps to protect critical power assets in regions at risk of flooding. These steps have included levee construction, sandbagging, raising equipment and using pumps to keep water out of critical major sites.

There is still potential for localised outages to occur through parts of western Victoria with strong gusty winds and rising water levels continuing. We have placed extra crews on standby ready to respond if power outages do occur.

We would strongly encourage customers to prepare for potential outages. Steps to prepare can include charging mobile phones and having back-up energy ready.

We will keep you updated on the restoration time via our website and SMS.

Customers who have been directly affected by floods should also take care when returning to their premises and seeking to restore electricity.

Importantly, electricity should not be turned back on until you have had advice from a registered electrician that it is safe to do so.

Advice on what to do if you are impacted by flooding is available here.

Information on preparing for outages is available here.