Essential Energy has tasked a fault-finding helicopter to patrol a high voltage powerline in the Elands area, north-west of Taree this afternoon, where 100 customers remain without power following Sunday’s wild storms.
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Supply restoration efforts are continuing throughout the Upper Hunter and Mid North Coast today, Tuesday with around 900 customers still without power.
North Coast regional manager, Brendon Neyland, said crews were fixing faults and then moving on to the next section of damaged network with plant and equipment.
“It’s a systematic process,” Brendon said. “We’ve brought in about 60 additional workers from the north of the region and as far away as Dubbo, Narromine and Gilgandra and they are helping our local crew members, who number more than 70, get the job done.
“We started with around 1500 people without supply this morning and this number is continuing to drop as we work through the fault areas.”
Major fault areas include east of Gresford around Allyn River, on Clarencetown Road out of Dungog, Flat Tops Road, Marshdale, and at Paterson River, where a total of around 500 customers are without power.
“We hope to restore supply to most of these customers by later this evening,” Brendon said. “Depending on the extent of damage and how long repairs take, it is possible some may remain off again tonight.”
There is also a large number of low voltage, single premise work that will be carried out today and tomorrow to restore supply to individual premises with damaged service lines and blown fuses.
“If anyone is aware of damage to the service line that attaches to their home or shed, please let us know on 13 20 80 if you haven’t reported it already, as this will help to expedite the full restoration of power,” Brendon said.
