By Tanya Steele
In what Ausnet has described as a ‘challenging’ weekend there have been around 50,000 customer outages across Victoria, with some residents in Ferntree Gully still without power.
As more weather systems crossed the state over the weekend, the tail end caught residents throughout the Dandenong Ranges and Yarra Valley – causing outages in some areas.
Sunday 9 February saw nearly 5,000 homes in Ferntree Gully, Sassafras, Boronia, The Basin, Ferny Creek, Upwey and more drop power overnight.
Around 1,000 homes remain without power as the working week starts, with two major repair jobs in progress in Ferntree Gully and Maffra on Monday morning.
“There are lots of single customers off which are largely blown fuses from lightning strikes,” an Ausnet spokesperson said.
In Ferntree Gully, Ausnet confirmed that 333 homes remain without power.
“We have a crew there repairing a damaged cable that was hit by lightning, there is no restoration time at the moment,” an Ausnet spokesperson said.
“Since Friday at 2:30 pm we have had approx 50,000 customer outages on the network,” they said.
“The bulk of those customers – around 13,000, were in Benalla, Wodonga, Wangaratta and Myrtleford, who lost power as the storm and lightning passed through at different points over the weekend.”
For more information on current outages residents can check Ausnet’s outage tracker for latest restoration times at: www.outagetracker.com.au
Please stay safe and share this information with friends and family.
