Transmission towers collapse near Anakie, thousands without power after severe storm

A power hub was sent to Lara on Wednesday morning for residents to charge their devices after a wild storm caused a major power outage.

A power hub was sent to Lara on Wednesday morning to support residents impacted by ongoing electricity outages to access basic services like phone charging, amid warnings the blackout could last up to a week.

Thousands of homes and businesses are still without power after a “catastrophic” storm led to transmission towers collapsing near Anakie.

Strong winds, heavy rain and hail lashed parts of the state, including Corio, Lara and Little River, about 2pm on Tuesday.

Powercor said an emergency response vehicle will provide a hub for residents at the Lara Community Centre on Waverly Rd to charge their phones, use a Wi-Fi hotspot and get on-the-ground advice about the ongoing outage.

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

The extreme weather led to six high-voltage transmission towers to physically collapse on Carrs Rd near Anakie, leaving homes and businesses across the state without power.

The towers’ collapse led to AGL’s Loy Yan A Power station in Traralgon disconnecting from the grid.

To keep the power system secure, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) enacted load shedding, a practice where electricity was reduced to other homes and businesses to protect the network from further damage and outages during extreme weather.

More than 90,000 customers across the state were impacted for 30 minutes by load shedding and have since had power restored.

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) said the station was in the process of being reconnected to the grid.

Inspectors from Energy Safe Victoria are investigating how the transmission towers collapsed and are monitoring safety measures being implemented in the area.

Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said Tuesday’s storm was “the most destructive in years”.

“It is possible it will take up to a week (to return power),” he said.

“We need to fully understand the extent of the damage.”

As of 12pm on Wednesday, more than 2000 homes and businesses in Lara and Corio were still without electricity, according to Powercor.

A number of cafes in Lara, including Founders & Co, Xpresso Lounge and Anna’s Cafe, were closed on Wednesday due to the ongoing power outage.

Lara kindergarten, Anglesea kindergarten and Jan Juc preschool were closed.

Lara Secondary College was still without power however was the school was open for students.

Hundreds of trees were uprooted and power poles were down after the wild storm tore through the northern suburbs.

Premier Jacinta Allan described Tuesday’s storm as “catastrophic” and said wind speeds of up to 122km/h were recorded in Lara.

Strong winds led to trees being broken in half in Lara. Picture: David Smith.

Multiple Lara residents had trampolines fly into their front yards due to the strong winds.

Corio SES received 69 calls for help during the storm, including 57 in Lara for trees down and damage to properties.

Across Victoria, 220,000 homes and businesses were still without power, as of 12pm on Wednesday.

State Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said crews were continuing to restore power.

Originally published as Transmission towers collapse near Anakie, thousands without power after severe storm