Power Outages in Northern NSW and South-East Queensland at Saturday morning 8th March 2025

Well, most of our team fared ok overnight with TC Alfred (still have not heard from a couple to ascertain) but the broader picture is that there’s large numbers of people off supply through south-east Queensland and northern NSW (and the storm, though downgraded in wind strength, is not yet over).

Briefly, grabbing the Energex outage map as at 11:35 (NEM time) this morning we see the following:

It’s clear to me that the eastern ‘half’ of the area copped the brunt of the high winds, leading to many more outages – with some of the few patches in the west being in more leafy green suburbs.

The Energex update at 09:00 (NEM time) this morning was as follows:

‘Alfred has hammered large swathes of SEQ: around a quarter of a million homes are without power this morning, with hundreds of powerlines on the deck and several substations are affected. Debris is blocking many roads, and we also need to factor in the risk of flooding, which will affect access and restoration.

This will not be a quick fix. Damage assessment is a painstaking process – we need inspect every feeder line, from the substation out, and record all faults so we know how many crews and vehicles, and what equipment is needed for repairs. Once we understand what we’re up against, we can start getting the lights back on, but as a rule of thumb, the more widespread and severe the damage, the more complex and  time-consuming the repair.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• • Before heading outside, have a thorough scan of your yard and driveway through the windows for fallen powerlines on your property. If you spot lines on the ground or on any structures, stay inside, don’t touch anything (including taps, switches or metal fixtures), and call us on 13 19 62 or 000. Live lines can run dangerous current through anything they touch, including the ground for up to 10m.
    
  • Watch for fallen powerlines whether low-hanging or on the ground, especially tangled up in cyclone debris. Report anything you see ASAP to 13 19 62 or 000, stay at least 10m clear, and warn others. Treat ANY powerline as though it’s live and deadly. And please don’t report these via social media – call us, so we can make sure we have all the info to make the site safe.
    
  • Use generators safely, and never, ever indoors. Read more on our website.
    
  • We don’t know when your power will be back on until we’ve been able to assess the damage, and we can’t provide updates on individual premises via social media.
    
  • Give our poles and pillars a wide berth when cleaning up. We need to be able to see and access all electrical infrastructure for damage assessments and repairs – please keep debris well away from power poles, wire stays, and those little green pillars.

When we have more info to share, we’ll keep you updated through our media channels and website. When we have accurate estimated timeframes, these will be reflected in our online Outage Finder.

We know people are desperate to have the power on – hundreds of our own employees and their families are in the same boat, so no one is more motivated to restore supply than your local Energex troops.  Please, be safe, and be patient. We’re onto it.’

South across the border, an updated (and zoomed out) view of the Essential Energy outage map (which i’d included yesterday here) is shown below:

Their 11:00 AEDST update (so 10:00 NEM time) was as follows:

‘Weather conditions have been favourable in parts of Northern NSW this morning (Saturday 8 March) giving way for Essential Energy crews to get out to start accessing the damage and begin restoring the power where safe to do so.

As at 11am, there are just over 42,600 homes and businesses without power in various communities between Tweed Heads and Grafton due to the impacts of tropical cyclone Alfred.

The severe winds and heavy rain have left a path of fallen trees and vegetation debris that will need to be cleaned up before powerlines can be accessed or repaired. At this stage, there has not been any major damage to zone substations and flood waters have not reached any of Essential Energy’s depots.

Weather conditions are predicted to deteriorate this afternoon and into the evening that is expected to bring more rain and hamper electricity restoration efforts.

Crews will continue to make repairs when conditions are safe enough to do so. Additional crews are on standby to assist with the cleanup and restoration efforts once ex-tropical cyclone Alfred has cleared.

If flood waters impact communities, it will lengthen the time before power can be restored. Crews are unable to turn the power on safely if powerlines or areas of the network are in contact with water.

We understand that this is a very challenging time for our customers and we thank you for your patience and understanding. The safety of our crews and our communities is paramount.

If you need to evacuate for flood purposes, if safe to do so, please turn off all switches and mains before the flood goes through, this includes solar and/or battery systems.

For information about evacuation centres in your area, please visit the NSW SES website.

Throughout the storm, customers should look out for indicators of potential damage to the electricity network, such as:

• • Fallen powerlines or power poles on land or in water
    
  • flickering or no power supply
  • burnt areas in paddocks or roadsides
    
  • injured or downed livestock
    
  • smoke or fallen trees.

If you see any of the above or powerlines in water, please stay away and call Essential Energy on 13 20 80 to report the damage. In an emergency always call 000.

For up-to-date information on impacted locations and estimated restoration times (when known), visit our website outages page.’