We have a lot of infrastructure to maintain. We own almost 50,000 kilometres of powerlines that feed electricity to 668,000 properties across a 80,000 square kilometre area in Melbourne’s north, east and across eastern Victoria. In an average year:
- we maintain and upgrade our existing network of more than 417,000 power poles, which services over 750,000 customers
- we support communities by adding new powerlines and underground cables to our existing 52,000 kms of powerlines and cables
- we upgrade infrastructure to enhance and improve the reliability of our network
- we connect around 20,000 new customers to the grid and extend the network to support increased demand.
Why are there planned outages?
Planned outages allow our crews to do repairs, maintenance and other work that can’t be done safely while the power is on. This work is necessary to keep the electricity network safe, reliable and ready for future demand.
During a planned outage, we:
- replace poles, wires, or transformers that are aging or damaged
- inspect and maintain underground cables and equipment
- install new equipment to improve reliability or support growth
- connect new homes or businesses to the network
- clear vegetation near powerlines to reduce bushfire risk.
Before the outage, we notify impacted customers by letter or SMS and prepare the site for the work. If you prefer SMS updates about planned outages, call 1300 360 795. We get your phone and email details from your electricity retailer (the company that sends you your electricity bills).
On the outage day, we’ll safely isolate the power, complete the scheduled work and get the power back on once it's safe to do so.
