People should start preparing for possible power outages in extreme conditions this summer, with the season forecast to be one of the hottest in years.
Summer traditionally sees higher electricity demand and brings with it a greater chance of extreme weather events, such as strong winds, lightning and heat, which can lead to localised power outages.
After completing one of its largest vegetation and maintenance programs to get the network ready for bushfire season, electricity distributor Powercor urged everyone to include preparing for power outages as part of their emergency plan.
Powercor’s head of network control Peter Galey said everyone needed to have a plan for what they would do if extreme conditions affected their power supply.
“Our control room is our eyes and ears, providing us real-time insight into what’s happening on the network so we can act and respond safely and quickly if the power does go out,” he said.
“We are also asking everyone to act too by preparing for power outages as part of their emergency plan.”
“Our Be Safe, Be Smart, Be Ready campaign offers important advice to people about what they can do to get ready for extreme weather conditions, as well as how to respond and safely reconnect if the power does go out.”
How to prepare for power outages
Be safe
- Have a backup plan ready if you rely on life support equipment or need electrical items to care for babies, disabled people, elderly or pets.
- Plan to keep food safe by setting your fridge to 5°C or below ‒ an unopened fridge will keep food for about four hours.
- Have plenty of drinking water available if your supply relies on power.
Be smart
- Sign up for SMS notifications about power supplies and choose your preferences for who you want to receive them.
- Download the VicEmergency app and keep emergency phone numbers handy.
- Know how to connect computers and tablets to your mobile phone’s hotspot.
- Backup computer files.
Be ready
- Charge mobile phones, laptops and portable backup batteries.
- If you have a rooftop solar system or a battery, check that it is able to operate in a power outage.
- If you plan to use a diesel generator, make sure it’s fully fuelled and operational and you know how to operate it safely.
- Have a battery-powered radio available for real-time news updates.
- Keep battery-powered lamps or torches in hand.
If power is affected, customers will be updated via SMS, Powercor’s outage map at powercor.com.au/