More than 25,000 homes and businesses on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula remain without power after a transmission fault caused a widespread outage this morning.
Major electricity supplier ElectraNet said the disruption was due to a lack of rain, which caused a build up of dust and salt on powerlines that is normally washed away by showers.
Local business owners discovered the power outage at 5.30am ACDT (6am AEDT) and some made the decision to close their shops for the day.
The outage affected people across the Yorke Peninsula and in parts of the state’s mid-north.
Zella Fitzpatrick, owner of Cafe Deluxe in Kadina on the Yorke Peninsula, said she was unable to serve customers today.
“We’re worried about the things in our fridges like we’re going to lose a lot of stock,” Fitzpatrick said.
“It’s just another blow for us, a financial blow.”
Royal Exchange Hotel owner Matthew Kelly said his Kadina-based business also took a financial hit due to the power outage.
“I might have to get a backup generator, that’ll be something we discuss down the track,” Kelly said.
Local schools were forced to close for the day, while hospitals relied on back up power generators.
“Our sites in the affected area are all operating on generators,” Yorke and Northern Local Health Network chief executive Roger Kirchner said.
“We are continuing to work with all sites, with our primary focus on ensuring we minimise any potential impact on our patients and communities.”
A spokesperson for electricity provider ElectraNet said the company experienced “multiple faults” on the transmission network this morning which impacted the power supply.
“ElectraNet routinely monitors the network to identify factors that may negatively impact the network and proactively plans and undertakes maintenance activities to address identified risks as required,” a spokesperson said.
“Unfortunately due to extended dry conditions and wind the network experienced multiple trips this morning as a result of dust and salt accumulation which has resulted in some damage at the Hummocks substation.
“While the substation is off and the damage is being repaired, additional maintenance will be undertaken to negate the need for separate outages.
“Work is underway to fix the damage and restore power as soon as possible.
“At this stage it is anticipated that power will be restored by early evening.”
