How we respond to and recover from emergencies

During emergencies, such as severe weather, floods and bushfires, teams from across Power and Water work together to restore essential services.

This includes protecting, making safe, repairing and rebuilding our infrastructure.

Power

Reconnecting essential services can be a complicated, but our team is trained to respond safely, and as quickly as possible. In the event of widespread or major damage, we first make sure the area is safe.

Then, we work to restore services to emergency services, public health and community facilities. After this, we work to reconnect the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible.

Water and sewerage

We maintain more than 2000 km of water mains and more than 1000 km of sewer mains.

Problems you may experience during or immediately after a cyclone, storm or flood include interruption or loss of pressure to your water supply, water restrictions, sewer overflows or sewer access openings or manholes that have becoming unlocked.

Reporting an outage

To report a disruption to your power, water or sewerage services, call us on on 1800 245 090 or report it via our app.

If the situation is dangerous, such as a powerline on the ground or another threat to public safety from damaged infrastructure, please stay away and contact us immediately on our emergency line 1800 245 090.

Our emergency response

Our power restoration response is a two-phase approach:

  • Phase 1: Response

    We assess, isolate and make faults safe as well as restore power to the network where possible. We prioritise restoration of services for public health, community welfare and emergency services.


  • Phase 2: Recovery

    In the short term, we restore power to largest number of customers, as soon as possible. Long term, we identify where we may need to rebuild the network to ensure its reliability.

Faults within your property

If your property has sustained any damage and we've had to disconnect your power, we will issue you a connection notice.

For safety, we can't restore your power until a licensed electrical contractor has issued a Certificate of Compliance. Find a Northern  Territory licensed electrician at Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Board . We need to see your Certificate of Compliance before we can reconnect your power.

If there are widespread outages, please leave your certificate in your meter box and we will reconnect you as soon as possible.

Please provide a safe and easy access to your property as locked gates and unrestrained animals can cause our delays to your power being restored.

Repair and restoration process

Electricity service lines

  • If your power line has come away from a power pole, we are the ones who can restore your power.
  • If your power line has come detached from your house or business, or if your property has been impacted by water damage or flooding, a Northern Territory licensed electrician  must check your property. The electrician needs to issue a Certificate of Compliance before we can reconnect your power.
  • The Certificate of Compliance ensures your safety and the safety of our crews.
  • Once you have a certificate, contact us on 1800 245 090 to get reconnected.

In the event of a widespread outage, we may ask you to leave your certificate in the meter box instead of calling us.

More about the electricity service line on your property

Storm debris

  • Always assume powerlines are live, so don’t carry out any electrical repairs or remove trees until we have made the area safe.
  • Fallen power lines can be difficult to see, so stay off the roads where possible.
  • We’ll remove trees or other items on private and public property if they are affecting power lines, power poles or water services.
  • Storm-damaged trees that aren’t impacting our services, but are affecting roads or other public areas, will be assessed and removed by local authorities.
  • Storm-damaged trees and other materials that aren’t impacting our services on private property are the responsibility of the property owner.

After flooding

  • The combination of electricity and water is hazardous – don’t attempt to reconnect your power. Take extreme caution when returning to your home.
  • For your safety and the safety of others, you’ll need to hire a Northern Territory licensed electrical contractor  to inspect your property. They need to issue you with a Certificate of Compliance.
  • When you have this certificate, contact us on 1800 245 092 to get reconnected. In the event of a widespread outage, we may ask you to leave your certificate in the meter box instead of calling us.

Water supply and sewerage services

  • If your water or sewerage systems have been damaged, listen to ABC emergency radio on 105.7FM, or visit SecureNT for updates.
  • Limit household wastewater as we may still be restoring services in your area.
  • Don’t drink water from streams or creeks and avoid dams, wastewater treatment ponds and floodwaters which may contain hidden dangers.
  • The Department of Health may issue a precautionary water boil alert. We’ll share this information through alerts on this website and Facebook . You will also find this information on SecureNT .
  • Stay away from pooling water as there may be a risk of overflows from sewer pump stations.
  • Please report all damage, leaks and dislodged sewer access covers as soon as possible by calling 1800 245 090 or use our online fault reporting form.

Who we work with

SecureNT a Northern Territory Government website where you will find information about emergency preparation, response and recovery. There you can find up-to-date information, alerts and warnings from a range of emergency services and emergency management agencies, including us.

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