Two Essential Energy employees injured after switchboard explosion

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Two Essential Energy employees have been injured after a switchboard exploded on Monday, December 9.

The crews responded to a fault in the network at 5:50am that impacted 2050 customers.

As crews attempted to switch power to restore supply, the incident, which was labelled “serious” by Essential Energy, occurred.

Essential Energy says emergency services attended the scene and the two Essential Energy crew members were transported to Port Macquarie Base Hospital with one employee flown to Sydney for further treatment.

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“We remain in touch with both employees and their families and will continue to support them throughout this period,” an Essential Energy spokesperson said.

“On the ground support is being provided to the employee’s colleagues in Port Macquarie.

Essential Energy postponed all planned work to take place on the network throughout the Port Macquarie area for Tuesday, December 10.

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“The circumstances of this incident are being thoroughly reviewed and as a precautionary measure Essential Energy has implemented temporary restrictions on some switching practices,” the spokesperson said.

“This action may result in some customers experiencing longer planned/unplanned power outages, however the safety of our employees and the public remains our priority.

“Essential Energy is cooperating with regulatory authorities as their investigations are undertaken.”

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