18 October 2024

Thursday evening’s significant weather event has damaged the high-voltage network in the state’s far north. Power supply has been impacted and ElectraNet crews are working to restore power as soon as possible.

It is expected that the majority of affected communities other than the Hawker and Leigh Creek areas will have power restored by midnight 18 October. All restored areas may still experience intermittent interruptions throughout the duration of restoration works.

Residents of the following townships are advised of the following:

Roxby Downs

Residents can expect an outage of up to two hours on the evening of 18 October to allow for critical maintenance works at the BHP smelter.

Quorn

Households and businesses with rooftop solar are being asked to turn off their solar systems to ensure power can be maintained. Please leave solar systems off until otherwise advised on this page.

Hawker and Leigh Creek

It is estimated that as many as 800 customers in Hawker and Leigh Creek will be affected by prolonged outages. While the full impact of this power supply disruption is still being assessed, residents in Hawker and Leigh Creek are advised to make preparations on the assumption that in some cases the outage could take a number of days to fully resolve.

Residents affected by prolonged outages should consider the following matters in preparing for the coming days.

Vulnerable community members

  • Residents throughout the affected area are asked to check on vulnerable members of their community during the outage.

Food

  • Check your supplies of food on hand and stock up on non-perishable items.
  • Take steps to limit the spoilage of fresh food you have on hand – see the SA Health website for tips on limiting the amount of food that is spoiled in an outage.

Power dependency for health needs

  • If you or someone you care for are unable to use medical devices at home and do not have a plan in place for an unplanned power outage, seek alternative accommodation until power returns.
  • If your phone network is down, in a medical emergency go to your closest Emergency Department.
  • See the SA Health website for advice on how to keep people dependent on power safe during a power outage.

Transport

  • Be aware that you may be highly dependent on private transport during this outage, and that demand for fuel could be higher than usual. Ensure your vehicles are topped up and that, where possible, you have additional supplies on hand.
  • There are no reports of road closures on the bitumen road network, but residents are advised to check the DIT website for closures on outback roads.
  • Be aware of debris and water ponding on roads after the recent weather events.

Electronic purchases

  • EFTPOS and automatic teller machine facilities may become unavailable during the power outage. Obtain a supply of cash for essential purchases.

Communications

  • Telstra is aware of impacts to some mobile phone areas, land lines and internet access; work is underway to re-establish these as soon as possible.
  • Keep a battery-powered radio handy for safety alerts on the AM band.

Using generators

  • Generators can be invaluable during a power outage, but there can be risks associated with their use.
  • Review the guidelines from the Office of the Technical Regulator for using generators for back-up power.

Travel

  • Please reconsider your need to travel into the affected areas during this outage. Availability of some critical services may be affected.

Further information