Over 30,000 homes and businesses across Tasmania remain without power this morning following overnight storms that have caused widespread blackouts.
TasNetworks reported around 143 outages early on Sunday, with the number having remained largely unchanged overnight and increasing from 10,000 since Saturday morning.
A spokesperson said the north and north-west regions are the most heavily affected, accounting for over 100 of the current outages, while 20 are impacting the south.
“With severe weather expected to continue today and into tomorrow, we expect this number to continue to rise,” the spokesperson said.
“Customers are advised to prepare for long delays.”
TasNetworks on Saturday night said power could be off in some places until Monday or Tuesday as crews deal with the backlog of outages.
The storms brought “destructive winds” that downed trees and powerlines and blew vegetation and debris into the network, damaging electrical equipment, the spokesperson said.
“Our highest priority is the safety of our people and the community,” they said.
“We have all available resources, including external contractors, working to make safe.”
TasNetworks is asking customers to only call their fault centre if they see downed or damaged power lines and to report outages online instead.
“Please only call us on 132 004 if you see a fallen powerline or if it’s an emergency,” the spokesperson said.
“If you do see a fallen powerline, always assume it is live and stay well away.”
