Victorian communities are now better protected against power outages caused by extreme weather thanks to investments by the Allan Government to improve energy resilience.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio today launched an energy resilience hub at the Monbulk RSL - one of 26 sites across the state that will provide powered community hubs for emergency support and safety during power outages caused by severe weather.
The Monbulk Energy Resilience Solution system will provide a space for storm and outage impacted residents to cook meals, charge devices and access information during an extended power outage.
The energy resilience systems are part of the Labor Government's $7.5 million Energy Resilience Solutions (ERS) program. The systems also have the ongoing benefit of providing cheap renewable energy to community buildings all year round.
The program funds solar panels, batteries and back-up generators in 24 towns identified as being at high-risk of outages due to ongoing extreme weather. The majority of systems are now complete, with the remaining installations in Healesville and Apollo Bay expected to be completed by September 2024.
The ERS rollout provides a first step in providing energy resilience to high-risk towns across Victoria and is just one way the Government is supporting reliable and affordable electricity for Victorians.
The Government is introducing obligations for energy companies to create five-yearly Network Resilience Plans. This will require them to plan and invest in improving the resilience of their networks, particularly those at high risk of prolonged outages caused by extreme weather.
Following the recent February storms that left more than 530,000 electricity customers without power at its peak, an independent Network Outage Review commissioned by the Government is also being undertaken.
The Network Outage Review's expert panel will make recommendations on the operational response of energy businesses, including contingency planning, timely and effective management of the incident, and restoration of supply following the storm event.
For more information on the 2024 Network Outage Review, go to energy.vic.gov.au/safety.
As stated by Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio
"We're bolstering electricity resilience to protect vulnerable communities against outages caused by extreme weather - and making sure that if outages do occur, locals can rely on a safe, connected community space."
As stated by Member for Monbulk Daniela De Martino
"Weather events like the February 2024 storms are becoming more intense and frequent, so it's critical for the Monbulk community that our electricity distribution system is equipped to support people when outages occur and that Victorians are reconnected as quickly as possible."
