FOR SOME residents of Wallan, Hidden Valley and surrounding areas, just the sound of rain on the roof can send them on a trip around the house to make sure everything’s in order in case the lights go out.
A backup supply of batteries to keep torches lit is a must, and some have resorted to hanging fairy lights in preparation for the seemingly inevitable blackouts.
It’s the routine that many have learned as a result of a continual battle with power outages for years now.
But energy provider AusNet has confirmed with the Review that a new substation on Old Sydney Road to ease the stress on current energy supplies is now under construction.
According to local residents, outages in Wallan and the surrounding areas are nothing new. For Hidden Valley’s Gail (surname withheld), it’s something that has plagued her house since she moved there early in 2009.
She told the Review that although the outages cause problems, she has been affected more by the power surge that follows, with electricians attributing motherboard failures with her spa, evaporative cooler and fridge to this issue.
Electricity providers encourage households to unplug appliances to protect themselves from surges, but when outages hit at unexpected times, this fail-safe falls by the wayside.
“Those quick flick-off, flick-on outages are the ones that we just can’t do anything about, and we don’t know what’s causing them,” Gail said.
But the effects on local business are much more dire, losing prime operating hours to unplanned outages that have left some with no option but to close up until the lights came back on.
Last Sunday’s outage, which affected nearly 6000 customers in Wallan due to a broken overhead high-voltage powerline, took place during the mid-morning peak period for many food businesses.
Although an AusNet spokesperson said a majority of customers were back on within an hour or so, it still proved a headache with bakeries having to discard partially baked bread and dine-in venues forced to turn people away.
One of those affected was Open House Café, located on the High Street strip to the south of Wellington Square, Wallan.
“The recent power outages have become a significant concern for us,” a spokesperson for the café said.
“Experiencing disruptions on Sundays – one of our busiest trading days – and again on Mondays over the past few weeks has forced us to close the business on multiple occasions.”
The outages have proved to be a double blow for High Street businesses who are grappling with reduced trading as a result of the upgrades at the Northern Highway/Watson Street intersection.
A number of businesses visited by the Review shared stories of a reduction in customers. “The combination of reduced access and repeated power interruptions is placing considerable strain on our operations,” the Open House Café spokesperson said.
These issues were substantiated by other food providers in the same Wallan shopping precinct, including Le’s Bakery and Jamz Fish and Chips.
The AusNet spokesperson said the construction of the new power station will take six to 12 months to complete, but short term fixes are also in the works.
Mitchell Shire Council CEO Mary Agostino said: “Council has been working with AusNet to support temporary measures aimed at improving reliability while longer-term infrastructure upgrades are progressed.”
“This has included assisting with approvals for temporary generator banks located in Wallan to help support the local electricity network during periods of high demand.”
“We acknowledge that these outages are frustrating for residents and businesses.”
Current supply to Wallan comes from the Kalkallo Zone Substation with two feeders supplying more than 7,000 customers in the township.
The new substation, located near the sub-transmission line on the western side of Beveridge, will service the growing community in the northern growth corridor, including parts of Wallan, with planning documents showing that additional feeder networks will help ease the existing overload on current electricity sources well into the future.
The AusNet spokesperson told the Review that they are also currently doing further investigations into the reliability in the Wallan region.
“In our immediate plans we have identified 14 hazardous trees for removal in the coming months. These trees are located near the powerlines supplying Wallan.”
Ms Agostino said the council is aware of the plans for a new substation, which have been approved by the Victorian Minister for Planning and will take 6-12 months to be completed.
“Council will continue working collaboratively with AusNet and other relevant agencies to support long-term improvements to power reliability in Wallan and surrounding areas,” Ms Agostino said.
In the meantime, residents will have to continue to put up with their power-outage problem child.
