Severe and sustained weather is predicted across Central and Eastern areas of the AusNet network this afternoon, Wednesday, and potentially through the weekend, which may impact our network.
The Alpine region may experience winds of up to 130km/hr. Seymour, Wallan, Rubicon, Mansfield, Lilydale, Beaconsfield, Leongatha, Warragul, Sale and Traralgon may experience winds of up to 100km/hr.
We have additional field crews available and can call on more resources if needed, but restoration times may be longer than expected depending on the severity of network damage.
We have temporarily stationed generators in Emerald, Cockatoo and Mirboo so they are ready to be connected to provide backup power if the storm impacts the network. They may be relocated to areas of most need as the storm impacts become clearer.
We will also be deploying our Emergency Management Mobile Assistance (EMMA) vehicle and community engagement teams to where and when they are needed.
Customer and community safety continues to be our priority. We will be communicating with customers throughout the week to keep them informed about any outages and our restoration efforts. Here are some tips to help you be power prepared:
- Life support customers, please be ready to activate your emergency plan. Call our priority line anytime on 1800 818 832.
- Have battery operated torches and radios in a place easy to access - keep spare batteries handy too
- Charge your battery packs so they're ready to power your mobile phones.
- Keep some cash on hand in case electronic payment systems go down during an outage
- Make sure you can open your garage or fence manually so you can leave your home if the power goes out
- If you have an electric water pump, stock up on bottled water
- Report new faults and emergencies online www.ausnetservices.com.au/outages/report-a-fault or on 13 17 99
- If you're in immediate danger, call 000. For emergency services, call the SES on 13 25 00.
- Stay safe. Keep away from any fallen or damaged powerlines and assume any wires are live.
- See more tips at https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/outages.
Customers can be kept up to date about power restoration assessment and restoration times via our Outage Tracker.