The blackout of more than half a million homes in Victoria on Tuesday has sparked a debate over whether power lines should be buried or made to withstand stronger winds and whether gas is being phased out of the system too quickly.
About 135,000 homes and businesses in Victoria were still without power by 4pm on Wednesday, including about 12,400 in Melbourne, a day after wild storms brought down transmission lines and damaged power poles.
Gus McCubbing is a markets reporter in the Melbourne newsroom. He was previously the Australian Financial Review’s Victorian political correspondent. Connect with Gus on Twitter. Email Gus at gus.mccubbing@afr.com
Ben Potter was a senior writer at The Australian Financial Review.