Ergon Energy says nearly 40,000 customers are without power across Far North Queensland as a result of Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which crossed the coast on December 13.
Related article: Ergon crews ready to take on Tropical Cyclone Jasper
“There is likely to be widespread network damage across several shires, including Cairns, Douglas, Cassowary Coast, Mareeba, Tablelands and Yarrabah,” an Ergon spokesperson said.
“Where and when it is safe, crews will begin damage assessments so they can gauge how long it will take to repair the network and safely restore power.
“We won’t have accurate restoration timeframes until then, so we appreciate everyone’s patience.
“Our crews are leaders in disaster response and keen to get out there and get the power back on for their local communities, but there’s potentially a lot of damage over a widespread area and severe weather could hamper access to sites, so we need to set realistic community expectations.”
Ergon is reminding members of the community that fallen powerlines should be treated as live and dangerous. The best course of action is to stay away and report them to Ergon on 13 16 70 or emergency services on 000.
“Safety around the electricity network is our top priority.”
Related article: Can burying powerlines protect storm-wracked electric grids? Not always…
Ergon Energy’s Outage Finder is a useful tool for information on outages and the text view will sort outages by council area, while general updates can be found on Ergon’s Tropical Cyclone Jasper page.
