** Update: 20 January 2023 **
Attention Derby community
Our two additional generators in Derby should be up and running later today. Some people may experience a power outage around lunchtime as we switch over to the new generators. This is to ensure our crews can safely complete this work.
We thank you for your ongoing patience while we work to recover from flooding in the region.
** Update: 19 January 2023 **
We're focussed on providing continuous, safe power to customers affected by the recent floods. Here’s the latest on what we’re doing...
- Derby has plenty of fuel with our first temporary diesel generator installed and about to come online. The storm means we need to go live early tomorrow morning instead of this evening as we’d planned – we need to keep our people safe as they switch to the new generator.
- Fitzroy Crossing also has good fuel levels with a temporary diesel generator being trucked in today - scheduled to come online over the weekend.
- Halls Creek - power is running with no issues and we’ve got more diesel supplies coming from Darwin. Shout out to everyone on the ground making it happen - the EDL team, the barge crew delivering all the goods, those loading and unloading the barges and our crews – thanks team! ℹ️
We're here to help
- Check out these tips on the Building and Energy website to help you stay safe after a flood
- Call our dedicated flood support team with any questions on 13 23 51
** Latest update: 16 January 2023 **
We're focused on providing continuous power to customers affected by the Kimberley floods.
Our Kimberley power stations are fuelled by diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG). But the road closures caused by flood damage prevent us from delivering LNG to the area.
That's why we're sending more generators to the region. This will ensure adequate fuel supply and generation capacity to help power affected communities.
Generators will start arriving in Broome on Monday afternoon and then be sent by barge to Derby. Initial generators are expected to be online in Derby and Fitzroy Crossing later this week.
We thank you for your patience during this time.
** Update: 12 January 2023 **
Horizon Power crews will be completing electrical infrastructure inspections in flood damaged areas
The severe weather and flooding in the Kimberley region mean that Fitzroy Crossing and some surrounding communities are experiencing ongoing power outages.
We remind all our customers to stay at least 10m away from all overhead and underground powerlines. All power infrastructure should be considered live and dangerous.
Where the water has receded and we can safely access areas, our crews are inspecting all the electrical infrastructure, such as powerlines, for damage.
To ensure everyone’s safety, we need to turn off power to homes to do these inspections – which means homes that currently have power will experience an outage at some point.
We’ll complete any repairs needed to our infrastructure as quickly as we can. Unfortunately, we can’t give specific timeframes at this stage however we’re working with DFES and other support services to do this as quickly and as safely as we can.
Residents are advised that individual premises will also be disconnected or receive a fault notice if there is flood damage to the premise. You will need to contact an electrician to inspect and repair any damage before power can be restored.
Please see our FAQs below for more information on how we prioritise who has power restored first.
Frequently asked questions
Restoring your power after an emergency
After a cyclone, there can be a number of safety challenges for our teams to reconnect power to your property.
Your safety means everything to us and we thank you for your patience as we work hard to restore power to your community as quickly as we can.
+ Download our fact sheet about reconnecting power if you've received a fault notice
It’s difficult to give a specific answer to these right now. We know this may be frustrating however we always put the safety of the community and our employees first and we need to assess the areas impacted first.
When there is an outage, there are many factors that determine how quickly we can turn the power back on. This includes having safe access to our powerlines and infrastructure or to damaged homes and businesses.
Once the cyclone passes, our crews will start the process of inspecting infrastructure, to identify any damage due to water or debris and ensure it’s safe to turn the power on.
When it’s safe to do so, we'll restore power to affected customers and communities as soon as we can.
Remember, never try to turn your power back on if you are not sure it is safe to do so.
We know many of our customers are not directly affected by Tropical Cyclone Zelia, but you may experience a power outage in the coming days.
For safety reasons we may need to isolate or switch off sections of the network if:
- power infrastructure is under water or damaged; or
- if people come too close to our infrastructure.
As flood waters may move through the Pilbara over the next few days, there may be further outages. Read our tips on how to prepare for an outage.
We have crews on standby to assist with faults where it is safe to do so. Sometimes we can turn the power back on remotely, but there are times when we need to visually inspect our infrastructure. This is to identify any damage and ensure it is safe to restore power.
We apologise for the inconvenience but keeping everyone safe is our priority. The high water levels mean that people travelling in boats could be close to powerlines or our infrastructure, and are at risk.
To keep up to date on outages in your area including estimated restoration times - use our outage finder or download the app.
When we respond after an emergency weather event, we will must first ensure any site is safe for our crews and for the community.
We then assess the damage and prioritise the order of repairs so power to the greatest number of customers can be restored as soon as possible, along with power to essential health and community services.
Once we complete the repairs, the typical sequence in the restoration process is as follows (with some occurring simultaneously):
- Essential services
Efforts to restore power to emergency service and critical community infrastructure is a priority - such as hospitals, police, ambulance, fire brigade and water treatment facilities. - High voltage lines
Are the backbone of the network, supplying power to many customers across a large geographic area. - Localised faults
Affects clusters of homes and businesses and involves distribution powerlines which connect to individual locations such as powerlines in local streets. - Individual homes and businesses
When network repairs are completed, service lines that connect power to individual homes and businesses are repaired.