Susie O’Brien: Welcome to Victoria, the blackout state

If hundreds of thousands of Victorians weren’t so focused on when their power will return, they may be asking how one storm can so badly cripple the state’s infrastructure?

Welcome to Victoria — the place where one storm is capable of crippling essential infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of people.

It’s a reminder of how totally inadequate our power networks are.

One storm and companies are closing down power stations to safeguard the stability of the grid.

It’s a bit like our roads, where one breakdown on the West Gate Bridge just about brings the whole city to a standstill.

Just after 2pm on Tuesday, Loy Yang’s ageing A coal plant went offline due to the damage of six transmission towers.

This was exacerbated by another outage at the Yallourn generator, leaving Loy Yang B as the only remaining coal power station in a state that relies on coal power.

This meant hundreds of thousands were left without power, with many not able to make phone calls either at a time when temperatures hit 40 degrees in some areas.

The downed powerline towers in Anakie. Picture: Alison Wynd

Thousands more could be without power for days or even weeks.

This so-called “catastrophic storm event” should not have had this impact.

The State Government continues to let us all down by failing to invest in power infrastructure.

They’re pushing their renewables agenda — which could take many more years to eventuate — while the creaky old coal stations get more and more old and unreliable due to the lack of maintenance.

At a time of soaring power bills, the people of Victoria deserve much better than this.

Like many others, our household lost power last night and soon after received a text from CitiPower telling us to prepare for an extended outage.

Just as we struggled to empty out the freezer and find torches – and then find batteries for the torches – the power came back on.

Loy Yang B was left as the only remaining coal power station in a state that relies on coal power. Picture: Getty

For hours after the power was restored we received texts telling us it would come back on at 4.30am, then another saying it would be 5.30pm.

It’s not good enough for people not to know when the power will be restored.

For us it was an inconvenience, but many thousands of others rely on power for essential health equipment or to store large amounts of food for commercial purposes.

The energy market operator suggested people could check the website of the distribution company. It’s absurd and maddening. How can people do this when they have no power?

In a state like Victoria, extreme weather is not, as minister Lily D’Ambrosio says, “unprecedented”.

It happens all the time. The problem is not the weather, it’s the inability of the State Government, and power companies raking in millions, to fund a properly functioning power system.