Power outage affects hundreds after tree falls in Arundel

A power outage affecting more than 700 customers on the northern Gold Coast is throwing a spanner in the works on Christmas Eve.

With kilos of prawns in the fridge, pavlova baking, meat roasting and drinks chilling, a power outage has proved an unwelcome surprise the day before Christmas.

Hundreds of houses across the northern Gold Coast were left without power when a tree fell on mains on Tuesday.

An Energex spokesman said 735 customers were left without power for close to an hour and a half after a tree fell on powerlines at Arundel.

The spokesman said power went out just after 11.30am, and was restored just after 1pm.

The outage affected hundreds of households, many likely with hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas food and drink waiting in the fridge.

A power outage of more than an hour on Christmas Eve was an unwelcome surprise for those storing prawns before Christmas Day.

The outage also affected traffic lights, wreaking havoc on the roads.

At the intersection of Brisbane Rd and Pine Ridge Rd at Biggera Waters, the outage may have contributed to a two-vehicle collision, a Queensland Police Service spokesman said.

There were no significant injuries in the collision, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

Originally published as Power outage affects hundreds after tree falls in Arundel