Powercor has restored power to Harcourt’s township and is continuing to rebuild parts of its fire-affected network to get power back on to about 317 customers.
Since Friday’s fires, field teams have replaced more than 215 damaged poles as well as powerlines and other infrastructure.
More than 200 field employees will be working across the fire-affected areas in Harcourt, Skipton, Natimuk and Cobram today, continuing repairs with the aim to get all affected customers back on by the end of tomorrow.
Today’s work includes
- Ravenswood and Harcourt:
More than 700 customers were restored yesterday to large parts of Ravenswood and Harcourt townships. Work will continue today, with 17 poles to be replaced. Most of the remaining 153 customers off supply are expected to have power restored by tomorrow. Planning work is underway to rebuild power supply to Mt Alexander communications tower as soon as it’s safe to access the site. - Natimuk:
Crews completed construction work on a major powerline and final clean-up work is expected to be completed today. Power is expected to be restored to the 37 customers off supply. - Cobram:
Field teams are expected to finish all construction work in this area today and power is expected to be back on to the remaining 26 customers. - Skipton/Streatham:
Crews will be replacing at least another 30 poles, as well as transformers and powerlines. Yesterday, teams replaced over 60 poles. Power is expected to be restored to the remaining 46 customers by the end of tomorrow. - Shelford/Meredith:
Crews completed the final repairs yesterday and restored power to all customers.
Crews are still unable to safely access and assess some areas due to active fires.
Based on current assessments, Powercor expect to have customers back on by the end of Wednesday.
However, these estimated restoration times may change based on any further assessments by the Powercor team, and they will keep customers updated via their outage map, SMS, contact centre and other channels.
On-the-Ground Support
Powercor emergency response vehicles and community support teams will be on the ground in Castlemaine and Skipton from 10.30am today, providing assistance to residents affected by recent outages.
Customers can speak with their teams about their power supply, charge mobiles or other devices, or grab a coffee. They are at:
- Castlemaine Town Hall, 25 Lyttleton St, Castlemaine
- Skipton Mechanics Institute Community Hall (Town Hall), 5 Anderson Street, Skipton
Come down and have a chat with the Powercor team.
Reconnecting Private Properties
While supply is expected to be restored to all areas by end of Wednesday, some customers may need to conduct repairs on their private properties before they can reconnect to the network.
Customers returning to their properties are advised to make sure it’s safe before turning on appliances as water or fire may have affected electrical equipment.
- If any switches do not turn on, or automatically shut off, this indicates the wiring may be affected.
- You’ll need a licensed electrician to test your wiring and appliances.
If you have rooftop solar panels, then contact your installer or a licensed electrician to check the condition of these panels before turning the system on.
Powercor will be waiving reconnection fees for properties affected by these bushfires.
- If your property has been disconnected or affected by fire or water, you will need a registered electrical contractor:
- Search by location through Energy Safe Victoria at:
https://esv.vic.gov.au/licensing-coes/public-register-and-searches/ - The electrician will complete a safety and compliance inspection
- Once any repairs are done they will issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety to us (at info@powercor.com.au)
- They’ll arrange the reconnection of your power through us by phoning 1300 360 410
More information is available at:
www.powercor.com.au/media-and-resources/blog/reconnecting-electricity-after-a-fire/
UPDATE 9.30am: Powercor has restored power to most customers in fire-affected communities where it is safe to do so.
About 36 customers in the Harcourt fire area remain without power due to extensive damage to electricity infrastructure on Mt Alexander.
With the fire still active on the mountain, our crews have not yet been able to safely begin repairs on the line that also supplies the local communications tower.
We are working closely with emergency authorities and will start repairs as soon as it’s safe to access the site. This work will include replacing nine poles and installing new lines.
A further two customers are still off due to fire damage in other parts of the network, with power expected to be restored today.
Since Friday, our teams have replaced more than 270 poles, installed hundreds of kilometres of powerlines and other electrical infrastructure to restore power to areas impacted by the Natimuk, Skipton, Harcourt, Cobram, Meredith and Otways fires.
We want to thank the communities for their understanding as we worked as quickly as possible to rebuild local networks. This is a challenging time for many people across these regions, and our thoughts are with them as they return to their communities.
Over coming weeks, we will continue repairing damaged infrastructure across these regions.
If customers have returned home and are still without power, please contact Powercor on 13 24 12.
