‘Power off’: Aussies assured power will not be turned off ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred after scam text

Aussies are being warned of a heinous scam text being circulated ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred making landfall.

Aussies have been assured power will not be switched off by an energy giant ahead of Cyclone Alfred making landfall, following the circulation of a callous scam text.

A text message warning Australians power would be cut ahead of Cyclone Alfred has been debunked as a scam by Energex.

“There’s a fake/hoax text doing the rounds saying ‘someone’s neighbour’ knows someone in Energex who told them the power will be cut ahead of the cyclone hitting,” an Energex spokesman said.

“THIS IS NOT TRUE! Energex WILL NOT be turning power off before the cyclone makes landfall.

“The community can always head to Energex’s Facebook page or trusted news sources for correct information.”

The energy giant has more than 1000 staff ready to repair cyclone damage, with crews still attending everyday outages as of Thursday afternoon.

Projected radar for 12am Saturday as Tropical Cyclone Alfred nears landfall. Picture: Supplied/ Zoom Earth

However a spokesperson said this would cease “when it becomes too dangerous to be out there”.

“Once the cyclone passes, crews will begin making network damage safe, assess the damage to determine what staff and equipment is required and then begin making repairs,” the spokesperson said.

“This is a methodical process and at times can be time-consuming to ensure the safety of the community and our staff. All planned maintenance work has been postponed.”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli earlier said power outages had already been recorded after gale-force winds knocked trees down, subsequently taking down powerlines with them.

“We’ll see more of that and I want Queenslanders to know we will get them reconnected as quickly as possible,” Mr Crisafulli said at a press conference on Thursday.

“Right now, crews from Energex are actually reconnecting as quickly as they can while it is still safe to do so, but we have pre-positioned a really large number of staff who are ready to assist and we even have those contractors who will be there to clear the trees so those electricity staff can go and reconnect power.”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said power outages had already been recorded. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

Australians in affected areas were urged to switch solar power off ahead of the cyclone, however, to “prevent damaged solar systems feeding energy back into a damaged house or the street network”.

“Turn off the system at the meterbox and then turn off the inverter that’s usually on the wall of your home or in your garage. Your inverter will generally have instructions on the shutdown process,” an Energex spokesperson said.

Those with generators were also advised only to use them in well-ventilated areas and never inside to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

People were also warned not to plug generators directly into homes unless it was installed by a licensed electrician as it could cause an electrocution hazard for the community and crews.

The Energex spokesperson also advised people only to plug in safe and undamaged extension cords to generators.

Originally published as ‘Power off’: Aussies assured power will not be turned off ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred after scam text