Short power cuts

Why do Short Duration Interruptions (SDI) happen?

A power cut can happen at any time of the day and there are several reasons why your power may be interrupted for a short period of time, these include

• Lightning strikes
• Damaged electrical equipment
• Tree branches or other debris touching or close to lines
• Animals interfering with electrical equipment such as a bird Strike
• We may have invested in our network with technology to avoid longer outages. This technology allows us to get your power back on quickly with minimal inconvenience.

How do we prevent these power cuts?

Although these power cuts are brief, we understand how frustrating they can be for our customers so we’re working hard to minimise them and improve our communications when they happen.

• Upgrading and investing in new technology on power lines that we know are experience the highest number of SDI’s.
• We analyse options to prevent the first flicker on a power line and look to reduce its impact on adjacent lines.
• Investigating and testing several new cutting-edge technologies, including those designed to prevent problems caused by lightning.
• Clearing vegetation from 15,000 miles of power lines every year.
• Adding new safeguards to discourage interference from animals and birds.
• We inspected more than 130,000 utility poles each year, repairing or replacing those that no longer meet our standards.
• We reach out to our customers to understand the impact and inconvenience caused by these types of power cuts to help us improve the service we deliver.

What can you do to help?

Talk to us, by letting us know you are experiencing these short power cuts we’re able to investigate and take steps to minimise their impact on your home or business.

You may also want to invest in devices such as uninterruptible power supplies and surge protectors can help maintain the flow of electricity and prevent possible damage to appliances and equipment.