How we respond to and recover from emergencies

Power and Water plays a key role during disasters and emergencies, such as severe weather, floods and bushfires, by protecting, making safe, repairing and rebuilding our infrastructure.

In a large disaster or emergency, teams from across Power and Water work together to restore essential power and water services.

Power

Reconnecting essential services can be a complicated task and our control room teams and field crews are highly 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 kilometres of water mains and more than 1000 kilometres of sewer mains. Severe weather events can impact the water and sewerage networks.

Some of the problems you may experience during or immediately after a cyclone, storm or flood include interruption or loss of pressure to your water supply due to damaged water supply infrastructure, water restrictions due to major damage to the power supply and/or water supply infrastructure, sewer overflows or sewer access openings or manholes that have become unlocked.

Reporting an outage

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

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


  • Phase 2: Recovery

    In the short term, we work to safely restore the most number of customers, as soon as possible. Over a longer period, we identify where we may need to rebuild the network to ensure its reliability.

Faults within your property

Crews will issue you a connection notice if they’ve had to disconnect your home or business due to widespread damage.

If your home has sustained any damage, we can't restore power until a licensed electrical contractor issues a Certificate of Compliance. Find a list of the Territory’s licensed electricians at Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Board . We will need to see your Certificate of Compliance before we can reconnect your power.

In case of widespread outages, where our crews need to visit many properties, please leave your certificate in your meter box. We will reconnect your power supply as soon as possible.

Locked gates and unrestrained animals mean our crews can’t safely access your property to restore power. Please ensure that you provide safe and easy access to your home or business.

Repair and restoration process

Electricity service lines

  • If the power line has come away from a power pole, we’ll restore your service directly.
  • If your power line has come detached from the fascia (area under the roof edge) on your house or business, or if your property has been impacted by water damage or flooding, you must have a Northern Territory licensed electrician -check your property. Your 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 when reconnecting power to your home or business.
  • 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 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 Power and Water has made the area safe.
  • Fallen power lines can be hidden by vegetation and are difficult to see in the dark, so stay off the roads where possible.
  • We’ll remove storm-damaged trees or other items on private and public property which lie across power lines, power poles or affecting water services.
  • Storm-damaged trees that aren’t impacting our services, but are across 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 ensure that it’s electrically safe and issue you with a Certificate of Compliance before we can reconnect your power.
  • 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 information updates, directions and alerts such as boiling water before use.
  • It’s important to limit your 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 until further restoration of power is complete.
  • Please report all damage, leaks and dislodged sewer access covers as soon as possible by calling us on 1800 245 090 or filling out the online fault reporting form.

Who we work with

SecureNT is the central Northern Territory Government website where you will find information for emergency preparation, response and recovery. You will be able to find up-to-date information, alerts and warnings from a range of emergency services and emergency management agencies, including Power and Water.

More ways to connect with Power and Water

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