About 23,000 homes and business across Geraldton and the Mid West remain without power due to thunderstorms wreaking havoc in the region — with Western Power working to determine the cause of the outage.
The mass power outage was reported just after 10pm on Saturday, with Western Power estimating a restoration time of 4pm — up to 18 hours later. The mercury in Geraldton reached 38.5C at 10.08am, but has since dropped to 30.6C at 11am.
As of 11am, 22,105 customers were without power across Geraldton suburbs and outlying towns and surrounds including Northampton, Port Denison, Dongara, Nabawa and Mullewa.
In addition, 1252 customers are affected in Kalbarri, with an estimated restoration time of 3pm on Sunday.
There is an estimated restoration time of 2.30pm for 1041 customers in Buller, Bowes, Yetna, Wonthella, Glenfield, Northampton, Isseka, West Binnu, Moresby, Yallabatharra, Nabawa, Sandy Gully, Waggrakine, White Peak, Howatharra, Woorree, Alma and Oakajee.
It is unknown when power will be back on for 558 customers without power in Carnamah, Maya, Marchagee, Waddy Forest, Buntine, Coorow, Eganu, Womarden, Three Springs, Kadathinni and Latham.
Western Power says severe thunderstorms have caused increased fault levels in Geraldton and surrounding areas, which may lead to extended outages.
The overnight thunderstorm impact two transmission lines.
A Western Power spokesperson said work was underway to restore power safely and as quickly as possible.
“We’ve deployed crews and a helicopter patrol is undertaking technical inspections to determine the cause of the outage. Once identified we’ll work swiftly and safely to repair the fault,” they said.
“Due to planned maintenance, the Mungarra Power Station is not available. Synergy teams are on site completing the maintenance activities as soon as possible.
“We’ve deployed emergency response generators to power essential infrastructure the region, these are expected to arrive and be connected by late afternoon.”
The spokesperson said given the large area that needed to be patrolled and resources required, there might be some customers who remain without power for an extended period. Those affected customers will be contacted via SMS so they can plan accordingly.
“We are communicating with customers directly impacted via SMS with information and updates including estimated restoration times, our response efforts, and the cause,” they said.
“We thank the community for their understanding as we work to resolve the fault.”
Anyone who sees a fallen power line are urged to stay eight metres away and call Western Power on the emergency 24/7 number 13 13 51 so that emergency response crews can attend the hazard to make the area safe.
To keep up to date, visit the Western Power outages page: https://www.westernpower.com.au/outages/
