AusNet cleared by Energy Safe over Anakie tower collapse

The state’s energy regulator has found there to be no case to prosecute after the collapse of six transmission towers north of Geelong during a storm early last year.

Six powerline towers collapsed in February last year. Picture: Alison Wynd

The state’s energy regulator has found there to be no case to prosecute after the collapse of six transmission towers north of Geelong during a storm early last year.

AusNet, the owners and operators of Victoria’s transmission network were cleared following a detailed investigation by Energy Safe Victoria.

A freak storm hit the Geelong region in mid-February 2024, leaving thousands of properties without power and flattening six massive transmission towers near Carrs Rd in Anakie.

Energy Safe had investigated the incident to see if AusNet had breached any of its obligations under the Electricity Safety Act 1998.

Their investigation concluded that AusNet “acted in accordance with its electricity safety management scheme, and that the transmission towers were properly maintained, inspected regularly, and free from evidence of corrosion or structural faults before the failure,” an Energy Safe spokesman said.

The collapse caused problems across the state. Picture: Alison Wynd

Wild weather brought down powerline towers near Carrs Rd Anakie. Picture: Alison Wynd

“The collapses occurred during an extreme storm event, and the location and form of damage on the structural sections were consistent with a sudden overload failure of the bolted tower structure. Chemical analysis and metallurgic examination did not identify any concerns.

“This incident has added to the growing state of knowledge about the likelihood and potential impacts of weather events in Victoria, with transmission tower collapses occurring twice in Victoria since 2020.

“We expect AusNet to ensure that it is proactively assessing its controls for the risk of transmission tower collapse due to weather events across its Victorian network.”

The 2024 storm saw wind gusts recorded of up to 175km/h, causing widespread damage across the state.

The six towers which fell in Anakie brought down a major 500 kilovolt transmission line.

This led to AGL’s Loy Yang Power station in Traralgon disconnecting from the grid and the Australian Energy Market Operator was forced to enact load shedding, where electricity was reduced to homes and businesses to protect the network from further damage and outages.

AusNet Services owns, operates and maintains Victoria’s high-voltage electricity transmission system, it consists of around 6,620km of transmission lines across 13,399 transmission towers.

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Originally published as AusNet cleared by Energy Safe over Anakie tower collapse