RURAL Victorians may experience power outages at high fire-risk times.
People who rely heavily on electricity are being warned by the State Government to take extra precautions.
With peak bushfire season approaching, the Victorian Government is urging residents to take steps to minimise disruptions.
Households are advised to:
- Have a battery-powered radio and spare batteries or a wind-up radio available so they can hear alerts and warnings.
- Have a landline with a cord, a fully charged mobile phone as back up and a spare battery.
- Have a non-electric pump that can be operated from an alternative water supply such as a swimming pool, concrete or metal tank, or dam.
- Make sure residents know the number of the electricity distributor to check for updates on power outages.
The advice comes as electricity distributors plan to adjust or disable circuit reclosers on the state's power lines to reduce the risk of bushfires.
By next Monday, SP Ausnet and Powercor will have disabled reclosers on single-wire earth return (SWER) powerlines supplying about 10,000 rural properties in high bushfire-risk areas. The reclosers will remain disabled for six weeks.
Reclosers help maintain the reliability of supply to rural households by automatically switching power back on after short-circuits in a line, 70-75 per cent of which are due to temporary surges from debris or animals touching a line.
But the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission found reclosers could spark fires on high-risk days by repeatedly sending a surge of electricity down powerlines, which then arced on to the ground, power poles or vegetation.
Victorian Farmers Federation horticulture president Sue Finger said rural properties risked being off the grid for 36-72 hours as a result of disabling the reclosers.
SP Ausnet has dedicated a helicopter to monitor SWER lines during the fire season.
A DPI spokesman said disabling circuit reclosers was about protecting rural residents.
"This does not mean people's power will be cut off in these areas, but they may experience longer waits to be reconnected if network faults occur," the spokesman said.
"If this (occurs) it will be due to an electric fault occurring in conditions highly likely to start a major bushfire."
