UPDATE, 6pm
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All Ararat premises have had their power restored.
A Powecor spokesperson said electrical inspectors had to be sent to 49 homes in Queen Street, Ararat to make sure they were safe to be re-connected.
A broken crossarm and a fallen power line were believed to have been responsible for the blackout, but further details and the location of the fault were not available.
UPDATE, 4.45pm
The Ararat region’s mass power blackout has reduced in size but almost 170 customers were without power on late Friday afternoon.
At the height of the blackout, almost 1300 homes and business were affected and Ararat’s traffic lights briefly stopped working.
Warrak, Crowlands, Dobie, Mount Cole, Dunneworthy, Eversley, Mount Cole Creek, Denicull Creek and Bulgana appear to have had their power fully restored.
A single premises on High Street, Ararat, along with 117 on Nott Road and 49 on Queen Street were still listed as being without power despite an estimated re-connection time of 4.30pm Friday.
A Powercor spokesperson did not return calls requesting comment.
EARLIER, 2pm
Almost 1300 customers are without power in Ararat.
Powercor’s website says the cause is under investigation, with an estimated restoration time of 4pm.
Grano Street, Ararat, is believed to be the fault location.
There are reports that Ararat Station is without power.
According to Powercor, Warrak, Crowlands, Dobie, Mount Cole, Dunneworthy, Eversley, Mount Cole Creek, Denicull Creek and Bulgana are also without power.
Ararat CFA duty officer Malcolm Bruce said there were reports of sparking power lines in Grano Street, Ararat at around 1.30pm, due to a build up of dust on the lines which could have caused the outage.
What to do in a power outage
- Check your switchboard and look for any tripped circuit breakers or safety switches. Hopefully it’s just a case of resetting these and your power will return.
- If you are still without power, check Powercor’s current outages page for details of interruptions in your area. Information is updated every 5 minutes.
- If your outage is not listed or if you have further information that would assist crews, call CitiPower on 13 12 80 or Powercor on 13 24 12.
- Keep clear of any fallen power lines as these should always be treated as live and dangerous.
- Check in with your neighbours. Particularly those with special needs such as elderly and people with disabilities.
Source: Powercor
More to come.