Powerlink explains cause of NQ’s large-scale power outage

The cause has been revealed for an early morning power outage that impacted over 100,000 households and businesses throughout North Queensland. See what happened.

Powerlink Queensland transmission lines.

Lights went out, airconditioners ground to a halt, and nightclub revellers were left fumbling for their drinks after a large-scale power outage struck North Queensland in the early hours of Saturday morning.

More than 113,000 households and businesses in North and Far North Queensland including Townsville, Ingham, Cardwell, Charters Towers, Julia Creek and parts of the Gulf region were affected by the outage which began around 1.40am.

Hundreds flocked to social media to speculate about what happened.

When asked about the outage, an Ergon Energy spokesman said it was caused by a problem with Powerlink’s transmission network.

Powerlink Chief Executive Paul Simshauser blamed an “unexpected electrical fault on the (high voltage) transmission network at (the) Ross Substation”.

Parts of Townsville were affected by the large scale power outage early on Saturday morning. Picture: Ergon Energy.

Prof Paul Simshauser during a Transport and Resources Committee Estimates hearing at Parliament House last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“Powerlink Queensland took immediate action to ensure supply was restored as quickly and safely as possible. Powerlink’s network was restored progressively from 2.30am with full restoration at 3.30am,” Mr Simshauser said.

Emergency crews worked in the early hours of the morning to safely restore the transmission network and are investigating the cause of the outage.

“We apologise to the local community for any inconvenience and thank them for their patience and understanding during restoration efforts,” he said.

Powerlink Queensland’s high voltage transmission network was affected by Saturday’s power outage. Picture: Powerlink.

“Powerlink continuously maintains our statewide network of transmission lines, substations and easements to ensure the network is safe, reliable and efficient.”

Powerlink Queensland is a government-owned corporation that owns, develops, operates and maintains the transmission network in Queensland.

It provides electricity to more than five million Queenslanders and 253,000 businesses via the state’s distribution networks, and is responsible for connecting large-scale renewable energy developments, including wind and solar, and providing electricity to large industrial customers in the rail, mining and LNG sectors.

For more information, visit: www.powerlink.com.au

Originally published as Powerlink explains cause of NQ’s large-scale power outage