United Energy
United Energy

Cape Schanck network upgrade works

United Energy will undertake a major upgrade of the powerlines in Cape Schanck aimed at maintaining safety and reliability for the community on Thursday 27 May 2021.

Work will include replacing powerlines with a new, stronger alternative that is well suited to the coastal conditions. At the same time, crews will also be replacing other equipment as part of our annual maintenance program such as cross-arms, insulators, lightning surge arrestors and fuse switches.

United Energy will commit a large amount of resources to replace more than 21km of powerlines across the 7kms. Work will take place Thursday 27 May 2021 between 7:00am and 17:00pm and will see more than $1 million invested in time and equipment to complete the works. We will also minimise the impacts to customers and the local community as much as possible.

Approximately 524 customers fall within the impacted area. We’ve planned our work to keep the outage impact and its duration to an absolute minimum. We will provide roaming traffic management escorts to safely guide customers from their property over the course of the day. We will provide a contact number closer to the date to arrange an escort to or from your property on the day.

We have proactively engaged with larger businesses in the area to assist with planning for the day. This early engagement has seen RACV accommodation and Golf Course and the National Golf Course proactively inform guests about potential delays accessing facilities on the day.

All bushwalking facilities that transit the area or provide pick up drop off points along Boneo Rd will be closed for the day. Parks Victoria has agreed to notify walkers through all ready established processes.

How you can prepare for an outage

  1. Have access to a phone that doesn’t need electricity, such as a mobile phone or phone with a cord (rather than a cordless phone)
  2. Charge mobile phones and laptop computers to ensure you can still communicate with friends and family and get information about service updates
  3. Make your fridge cooler in the days leading up to the outage and then only open fridge and freezer doors when absolutely necessary as this will keep the food and air temperatures colder for longer
  4. Keep a battery-powered radio for news and updates on weather conditions and power outages
  5. Back up computer files and records to storage devices or a secure location to assist with business continuity
  6. Withdraw some cash to pay for food or other supplies given that ATMs and EFTPOS can be affected by electricity outages
  7. Know how to open garage doors and electric gates manually as these won’t work in a power outage
  8. Update your safety and maintenance plans (for properties in bushfire areas and/or properties with private overhead electric lines)
  9. If using a portable generator, plug appliances only into the outlets provided on the generator. Do NOT attempt to connect the generator to your house wiring