As at 2.45pm, 9 January, 2026
Powercor crews are working to restore power to more than 25,200 customers across western and northern Victoria as winds strengthen and temperatures soar into the 40s.
Wind speeds of over 90kmh, combined with high temperatures, are creating challenging conditions across our network and leading to localised power outages in some parts.
The hardest hit areas are currently Werribee, Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina, Melton, Woodend and surrounding areas, Ballarat, Bendigo and surrounding areas and Shepparton.
The causes of these power outages vary and include a car accident, fallen trees, lightning and wildlife.
As the weather conditions deteriorate, including with predicted 120km winds, we do expect further impacts to our electricity network and we are asking people to take action now.
We have significantly increased resources across our field teams, controllers, customer centre representatives and other areas and are doing everything possible to get power back on as quickly as possible.
Due to the catastrophic fire danger conditions, we are operating our safety settings on our network in a very sensitive mode to reduce the risk of fires. These devices are designed to keep communities safe but do increase the likelihood and duration of power outages occurring during these extreme conditions.
In many cases, our crews will need to patrol the lines to make sure they are safe before power can be safely restored, and this may mean restoration times are longer than usual.
We are keeping customers updated on restoration times via SMS, our outage map and our customer contact centre.
Bushfires can damage electricity infrastructure and affect electricity supply to properties, impacting equipment such as electric water pumps.
If our assets are damaged by a bushfire, it may take several days before crews can safely access sites and complete repairs to electrical infrastructure.
Extreme conditions can also bring down powerlines. If you see a fallen powerline, always assume they are live, stay well away and report them to us on 13 24 12.
