Properties in Walcha and the surrounding areas will be without power in the early hours of Sunday this weekend when Essential Energy crews upgrade the electricity network and strengthen the power supply for more than 2,000 households and businesses.
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Regional manager Northern, Mark Summers, said significant planning had been undertaken to complete the maintenance work overnight and minimise the inconvenience to customers.
“It’s vital that we keep the network in peak condition as the Walcha area is supplied by a single powerline and electricity can’t be re-routed from an alternative source,” Mr Summers said.
“The project will include the replacement of several pole cross-arms on the high voltage powerline from Armidale.”
To enable crews to safely complete the work, a power outage has been scheduled between 12.01am and 6.30amon Sunday, 18 June 2017, in Walcha, Yarrowitch, Nowendoc, Woolbrook and surrounding rural areas. Affected households and businesses have been notified.
“We’ve undertaken extensive planning for this project, including bringing in additional crews and equipment from Armidale to assist our Walcha crews to complete the work as quickly as possible,” Mr Summers said.
The project is dependent on suitable weather conditions and may be postponed if conditions are unfavourable or unforeseen circumstances arise.
"We thank customers for their understanding and patience while we work to improve the power network for their local community,” Mr Summers said.