Extreme weather events this winter have led to calls for communities in Cobram and the surrounding region to be well prepared for the risk of power outages.
In the first half of winter (June 1 to July 23), 191 severe weather warnings were issued, resulting in power outages for communities across Victoria.
Electricity distribution company Powercor warns that while most people associate the summer season with these events, June and July this year have proven they can happen at any time. The main difference is in the impact such events can have on managing the cold in winter.
Powercor’s Network Control and Operations head George Aspros recommended people be prepared to be resilient to the risk of power outages at any time.
“Powercor is one of the country’s most reliable electricity distribution companies but we cannot control the weather,” Mr Aspros said.
“While we have about 1000 people in crews located in 14 depots around Victoria who respond quickly to these events and in all conditions, we encourage customers to be prepared for a loss of electricity.”
In the event of extreme weather alerts, customers who lose power will recover better if they have:
Mr Aspros said anyone who relied on life support or medical assistance should also ensure they had contingency plans in place in case of a power outage.
“We ask any customers reliant on electricity to power life support medical equipment to contact us to make sure we can advise them directly about risks to electricity supplies.”
