Ergon crews across the central Queensland region cleaned up damage and reinstated electricity to customers in the wake of category two gale force winds and heavy rain caused by tropical cyclone Dylan.
General manager service delivery central Steve Leighton said crews pulled out all stops in February to ensure customers endured minimal disruptions to their power supply.
โWe started [January 31] with around 5500 customers off line across the region โ around 3000 in Mackay and around 2500 across Central Queensland โ and worked through the night to repair the damage, get affected customers back on line and deal with additional weather related faults that came in,โ he said.
โWe had upwards of 12,000 customers off line in Mackay and the Whitsundayโs at one stage, the majority of which were restored that night using crews on a rotational basis to enable a full response the next day.
โOther notable impacts were on the Capricorn Coast where a gum tree fell across high voltage equipment disrupting 1900 customers and out at the Gemfields where a cross arm was damaged, disrupting power to 1169 customers.โ
In total, 311 field staff committed to the restoration effort, with Mr Leighton saying they operated quickly and safely in challenging conditions.
โI thank them for their commitment in getting supply back on so quickly in what was, in reality, a pretty major event,โ he said.
Additional staff were brought from Bundaberg to assist with restoration around Gladstone. Ergon crews from the Central West and the Highlands, Townsville and Hinchinbrook were also brought in to assist with repairs and restoration in Mackay.