14 February 5pm statement
Power restoration progressing in Victoria
Today, electricity crews have made significant progress in restoring power to thousands of properties in Victoria that suffered power outages due to yesterday’s storms.
Approximately 127,743 homes and businesses remain without power in Victoria due to destructive winds across the state, down from 280,000 this morning and a peak of 530,000 yesterday.
Vegetation clearing and repairs to damaged powerlines and poles continue. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may take days or more than a week in extreme circumstances to restore electricity to all of those impacted.
For safety reasons, please do not approach fallen powerlines and call the faults and emergency number for your electricity distribution company on your electricity bill.
Victoria’s electricity distribution businesses have provided the following outage numbers as at 5pm:
| Distribution Business |
Network Area | Customers without power |
|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services |
Outer east and outer northern Melbourne, eastern and north-eastern Victoria |
112,272 |
| CitiPower | Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs |
50 |
| Jemena |
North-west Melbourne |
8 |
| Powercor Australia |
Outer western suburbs of Melbourne, and central and western Victoria |
3,229 |
| United Energy |
South-east Melbourne, and Mornington Peninsula |
12,184 |
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14 February 10:30am statement
Storms disrupt power supply in Victoria
Electricity network crews have restored power to thousands of properties this morning, which lost power due to a severe storm that damaged the poles and wires network in Victoria yesterday.
Approximately 220,000 homes and businesses remain without power in Victoria due to storm damage across the state, down from a peak of 530,000.
Vegetation clearing and repairs to damaged powerlines and poles continue. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may take days if not weeks to restore electricity to all of those impacted.
For safety reasons, please do not approach fallen powerlines and call the faults and emergency number for your electricity distribution company on your electricity bill.
Victoria’s electricity distribution businesses have provided the following outage numbers as at 10am:
| Distribution Business |
Network Area | Customers without power |
|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services |
Outer east and outer northern Melbourne, eastern and north-eastern Victoria |
189,794 |
| CitiPower | Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs |
129 |
| Jemena |
North-west Melbourne |
4 |
| Powercor Australia |
Outer western suburbs of Melbourne, and central and western Victoria |
9,958 |
| United Energy |
South-east Melbourne, and Mornington Peninsula |
16,289 |
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14 February 7:30am statement
Storms disrupt power supply in Victoria
Electricity network crews have restored power to a large number of properties that lost power due to a severe storm that damaged the poles and wires network in Victoria yesterday.
Approximately 285,500 homes and businesses are still without power in Victoria due to storm damage across the state, down from a peak of 530,000.
Vegetation clearing and repairs to damaged powerlines and poles continue. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may take days if not weeks to restore electricity to all of those impacted.
Emergency crews continue to endure challenging conditions to access and repair damaged powerlines and critical energy infrastructure.
For safety reasons, please do not approach fallen powerlines and call the faults and emergency number for your electricity distribution company on your electricity bill.
Victoria’s electricity distribution businesses have provided the following outage numbers as at 7am:
| Distribution Business |
Network Area | Customers without power |
|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services |
Outer east and outer northern Melbourne, eastern and north-eastern Victoria |
236,901 |
| CitiPower | Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs |
12,400 |
| Jemena |
North-west Melbourne |
4 |
| Powercor Australia |
Outer western suburbs of Melbourne, and central and western Victoria |
11,715 |
| United Energy |
South-east Melbourne, and Mornington Peninsula |
24,572 |
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8:30pm statement
Storms disrupt power supply in Victoria
Storms continue to damage Victoria’s electricity network this evening, disrupting the power supply to approximately 473,000 homes and businesses, slightly down from today’s earlier peak (530,000).
It’s estimated that strong winds and fallen trees have damaged hundreds of powerlines and power poles.
Network crews continue to endure challenging weather conditions, falling trees and access issues to repair damaged powerlines and critical energy infrastructure.
Crews are actively working to restore power to these impacted areas. However, given the extent of the widespread damage, it may take days if not weeks to restore electricity to all of those impacts.
For safety reasons, please do not approach fallen powerlines and call the faults and emergency number for your electricity distribution company on your electricity bill.
Victoria’s electricity distribution businesses have provided the following outage numbers as at 8pm:
| Distribution Business |
Network Area | Customers without power |
|---|---|---|
| AusNet Services |
Outer east and outer northern Melbourne, eastern and north-eastern Victoria |
262,601 |
| CitiPower | Melbourne CBD and inner suburbs |
12,854 |
| Jemena |
North-west Melbourne |
189 |
| Powercor Australia |
Outer western suburbs of Melbourne, and central and western Victoria |
63,271 |
| United Energy |
South-east Melbourne, and Mornington Peninsula |
134,579 |
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5:30pm statement
Around 4pm, AEMO cancelled the controlled disruption to people’s electricity supply in Victoria (load shedding), required as a last resort to return the power system to a secure operating state.
All of these customers (approx. 90,000) across the state have had their electricity restored.
Investigation into the power system security event in Victoria, including the tripping of the Moorabool to Sydenham 500 kilovolt transmission lines, are still underway.
At the same time, Victoria’s electricity distribution businesses have confirmed that approximately 500,000 customers throughout Victoria are now without electricity.
These power outages are due to storm activity, strong winds and lightning causing damage to the electricity network.
Crews are actively working to restore power to these impacted areas, clearing vegetation to make the areas safe before replacing poles and mending fallen powerlines.
For safety reasons, please do not approach fallen powerlines and call the faults and emergency number on your electricity bill.
AEMO, as the national power system operator, will continue to provide media with a state-wide overview of the situation on behalf of the Victorian electricity supply industry, until conditions improve.
Media requests for high level, summary information about the electricity supply disruption, or interviews, should be directed to AEMO.
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3:30pm statement
AEMO can confirm that a significant power system event occurred in Victoria early this afternoon.
In Victoria, the Moorabool to Sydenham 500 kilovolt transmission lines tripped, multiple generators disconnected from the grid and some consumers experienced a loss of electricity supply.
AEMO is investigating the cause.
To keep the power system secure, AEMO has directed AusNet Services to enact load shedding.
Controlled load shedding is a mechanism AEMO uses as an absolute last resort to protect system security and prevent long-term damage to system infrastructure.
Further updates will be provided.
For further information, please read our load shedding fact sheet.
Ends...