Ergon Energy Roma crews were called to some ‘tough conditions’ south of Mungallala today after last night’s storm knocked down six power poles.
According to Ergon’s Outage Finder service, storm activity caused a power outage affecting the localities of Bindebango, Mitchell, Morven and Mungallala, with loss of power first reported around 3:26pm on Thursday, 11 January.
Around 34 customers are affected by the outage, with a spokesperson for Ergon saying repairs to the network will hinge on further surveys of the storm-affected area.
Helicopter patrols done by Ergon on Friday 12 January reported there was likely to be other damage to sort out before it would be safe to turn the power back on.
Brett Judge, Principal Corporate Communications Advisor for Ergon Energy, said on-site crews hoped to get the power back up and running by this evening, but added this may be delayed to tomorrow.
Mr Judge said that, in the interest of safety, crews attending a fallen power pole had to ensure the conductive material at the top of the pole was fully inert and detatched before they could begin repairs.
With storm season upon the Maranoa region, Mr Judge stressed the importance for the community to be prepared.
“People need to have a plan if they lose power; if you have generators, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and don’t operate generators inside because there is a risk of carbon dioxide poisoning,” he explained.
“Make sure you have a storm kit with torches and a portable radio so you can listen to updates from emergency services.
He encouraged people to check the ‘Severe Weather’ tab on the Ergon Energy website for more details.
Within the first 12 days of the year, Ergon have already been quite busy, attending to damage caused by tropical cyclones in Far North Queensland and storms and floods in South East Queensland.
“Last year in the central and south-west [regions] we had a lot of storms which caused damage,” Mr Judge said.
“As soon as it’s safe to do so [our crews] go out and restore the power.”
Mr Judge stressed that if anyone sees fallen powerlines or wires, they should stay clear of the area, call Triple Zero and, if they have lost power at home, ring 132296.
