The 2025-26 severe weather season saw plenty of rain fall across the Northern Territory, and the result is likely to be a bumper bat season thanks to an abundance of food sources for the native animals, who feast on flowering native plants.
As bats gather in large groups to feed, they also cluster around nearby powerline insulators, forming a bridge from the conductor to the steel cross-arms. This can short circuit the high-voltage system, causing a power outage. If the bats fall away, the system reboots itself and power is restored. If this doesn’t happen, Power and Water dispatches crews to patrol the powerline, find and remove the bats.
Power and Water takes steps to keep bat-related outages to a minimum. This includes installing insulators with greater clearance for bats and other wildlife, and specially designed animal guards to prevent bats from gathering around insulators.
Stuart Eassie, Senior Manager Network Planning & Design, said bats are unpredictable and are not the only cause of power supply interruptions.
‘Bats are an important part of our ecosystem and, from now until October, fruit and flowers attract them in their hundreds,’ Mr Eassie said. ‘They feast on a food source then move on to another. It’s impossible to predict exactly where they will go, so we have taken preventative actions in different areas across the Territory.
‘Birds and other forms of wildlife can interfere with powerlines too, as can vegetation growing too close to infrastructure. We have a regular tree-trimming program to combat this in public spaces, but we also ask Territorians to keep trees and palms in their own yards under control, to prevent them from reaching power lines.’
Power and Water maintains a power network of more than 50,000 power poles, 7,000km of overhead powerlines and almost 3,000km of underground cables to deliver power to Territorians. Some overhead lines in rural and regional areas span several hundred kilometres over native bushland, farmland and mangrove swamps.
To report wildlife on Power and Water infrastructure or trees near powerlines, call 1800 245 090.
Caption: Following their food source, bats can cause power outages if they gather around power infrastructure.
Media contact: 0401 117 599 / media@powerwater.com.au
