SEVERE storms sweeping across South-east Queensland have left about 147,000 Energex customers without power as of 8.30pm on Monday, November 24, with crews working through the night to restore electricity.
The system delivered intense lightning and destructive winds, causing widespread damage across South-east Queensland including Brisbane’s north and parts of the Sunshine Coast. Outages peaked at 162,000 about 6.30pm, and crews have been working continuously since.
An Energex spokesperson said the scale of the event was extreme, with more than 900 powerlines down and around 880,000 lightning strikes recorded.
Safety is always our number one priority, and all restoration work must be done as safely as possible,” the spokesperson said.
All available field crews will remain on the ground overnight, with additional teams arriving from less-affected Energex areas and neighbouring Ergon Energy regions from first light Tuesday. However, the extent of the damage means some communities may remain without power until Wednesday.
Energex urged residents to take extra care during clean-ups.
Fallen trees and debris can easily conceal live powerlines, the spokesperson warned. Please stay well away from any fallen lines and always assume they are live.”
Residents should call 13 19 62 to report fallen powerlines, or triple zero in life-threatening situations.
Two Energex helicopters will also conduct low-level flights over the worst-hit regions from early Tuesday to help identify further damage.
For ongoing outage information, customers can visit the Energex Facebook page or use the text-view outage finder on the Energex website.
