We have been continuing to assist in the emergency response to the River Murray floods.

Electricity and water are a dangerous combination and for safety reasons, we are undertaking disconnection of electricity supply for customers. Where we can we are trying to get ahead of floodwaters to ensure the safety of the community, property and our people.

While safety must remain our priority, SA Power Networks does not want to disconnect one more customer than is necessary to protect lives and property as the flood waters rise.

The flood forecasts from the State Government have continued to rise over recent weeks. Currently flows are estimated at 175 gigalitres (GL) flowing down the river every day – and it could go above 200GL.

To put that in perspective, Adelaide households consume 135GL of water annually and our metropolitan reservoirs hold 200GL in total capacity.

Safety our highest priority

We have obligations under law to de-energise powerlines for safety reasons when certain clearance criteria are reached – this is purely for community safety reasons. As always, safety is our highest priority.

Our challenge is that many of the radial powerlines in the region cross over the river and flood plains to supply areas that won’t be flooded. These may need to be turned off if safe clearances between powerlines and water are breached, affecting customers outside flood impacted areas. We are working closely with the government to try to reduce the potential for this to occur.

There are many safety issues that the public needs to be aware of, including:

• Avoiding downed or low powerlines.
• Staying clear of all electricity infrastructure in floodwaters as it may still be energised.
• Being aware that powerlines may be low over flood waters (and therefore safe clearances may be breached).

We’ve been preparing since October

In October, we set up a team to plan and develop our response. We are making ongoing assessments about the safety of electricity supply, and we are also having to assess our ability to get crews safely to areas that may or have been flooded.

We have been encouraging people to take early action to minimise damage and recovery time once the waters recede. Some points to be aware of:

• We have our local team driving our response who are focused on minimising the number of people who may be affected by outages. They are supported by network asset teams and engineers on the ground assessing impacts at various flood levels so we can monitor what is happening, ensure we are meeting safe clearances, and can communicate to customers ahead of time.
   
• There are no miracle technical solutions; however, where we can, we have been doing some modifications to limit the number of customers affected.
   
• Many of the issues with supply are directly related to the location of properties on flood plains and private infrastructure.
   
• We are working closely to assist caravan park owners, irrigators etc where possible, but we have no visibility of their infrastructure beyond their service point, and they will need to engage an electrician to assist. We are happy to provide advice and assist in shifting service points where we can, but we need customers to contact us about their needs.
   
• Finally – and this is a key point – the floodwaters will remain for some time and people do need to prepare for the reality that electricity will remain disconnected until it is safe to reconnect. In some cases, property owners will need to get an electrician to confirm the safety of their property prior to reconnection.

Renmark substation

Renmark substation is our most vulnerable substation to flooding in the Riverland. It is already defended by a levy, but we have installed a clay/rubble bund to protect the site to 250GL flood levels. We have also been talking to government in recent days about potential further protection.

Will my power be disconnected due to the threat of flooding?

We use the government’s flood prediction tools to give us an indication of which areas may be affected by flooding. We are committed to providing advanced notifications to affected property owners, where we can. The easiest way to stay informed and receive updates is to sign up for our SMS notifications.

If you suspect that your property is at risk of flooding because it is located in a low-lying area or floodplain, you may wish to use a flood prediction tool such as the State Government’s WaterConnect Flood Awareness map to get an idea if your property will be affected by flooding.

More information

Keep up to date with our latest River Murray Flood Information

Sign up to receive SMS / email alerts for your property

Check out our general information on flood safety