On call to keep all Territorians connected

23 Dec 2010

If the power goes off or water supply mains stops, Power and Water’s technicians will be on their way to investigate and make repairs.

At this time of year, the major cause of power outages in the Northern Territory is storms.

Strong winds and heavy rain can cause trees to fall onto powerlines or lightning can surge millions of damaging volts into the system.

Despite all protection systems, when a tree falls onto powerlines or uproots a water main, hands-on repair is necessary.

Water Services crews, who can be called out up to five times a week, will be ready to repair broken water mains, remove blockages to sewer mains and ensure that pump stations are working effectively.

Power Networks teams are ready to patrol hundreds of kilometres of powerlines, if necessary, to identify the cause of power outages, then work to repair or replace equipment that has borne the brunt of a lightning strike or falling tree.

System Control operates 24 hours a day, taking your calls about service interruptions and dispatching call-out crews to restore services.

Please call our Customer Service Centre on 1800 245 092 if you see or hear possible damage to Power and Water infrastructure – you might prevent or shorten an outage for yourself or someone else.

If the situation is life threatening, call 000 or the Power and Water emergency line on 1800 245 090 immediately.

Don’t forget to protect your own home: if an electrical storm is approaching – or you are going away for a few days – unplug electrical appliances to protect them from a possible power surge.

Prolonged or significant outages are notified on Twitter (PowerWaterCorp) and updates provided on the Unplanned outages page.

For more information see Power and Water’s storm and cyclone season information online.