During the wet season in the Top End and summer months in Central Australia, the Northern Territory is exposed to severe weather events which can cause unplanned interruptions to power supply.
In addition to floods, cyclones, storms and strong winds, the Top End also sees hundreds of thousands of lightning strikes every year, with trees struck and powerlines becoming lightning magnets.
“Power interruptions are often the result of something touching a powerline and tripping the safety mechanism,” said General Manager Power Services Peter Billing.
“However, if the powerline is damaged or obstructed, reconnection may take longer. Our crews manually patrol the line, section by section, looking for faults.
“On rural powerlines, or feeders, which can span hundreds of kilometres across bushland, this is like searching for a needle in a haystack in the dark.”
Mr Billing said with thousands of kilometres of powerlines across the Territory, power interruptions could happen anywhere along the huge network.
“We understand people’s frustration when the power goes out,” he said.
“Our crews are on call 24/7 and work hard to restore power to customers as quickly and safely as possible.”
The recent severe storm which swept through Darwin’s rural area saw all available Power and Water crews working through the night and into the next day to remove large trees and debris and replace damaged electrical equipment.
Mr Billing said after a particularly dry year, there have been numerous reports of brittle tree debris picked up by strong winds.
“One of the reasons why we ask customers to wait 15 minutes before calling us is because debris might fall off the line, allowing us to re-energise the line quickly,” he said.
“Safety regulations require us to wait 15 minutes before doing this.”
During an outage, Mr Billing reminded people to check their street and neighbours, if safe.
“In the rural area where people are on large blocks, sometimes it’s not the feeder that’s the problem, but the service line to the property,” he said.
The community is reminded to plan, prepare, protect and connect with us this storm season. Find out more about our annual safety campaign at powerwater.com.au/prepare
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Contact: Media unit
Phone: 0401 117 599
