Get your Power Outage Plan ready
Extreme weather — and the impact it has on power supply — is not confined to specific seasons and South Australia’s electricity network, like other states, is likely to be impacted by changes to extreme weather patterns.
At SA Power Networks, the safety of our people and the community is our highest priority. Most weather-related power outages are caused by the prevailing conditions — such as wind, lightning, or storms. But at times, to help keep communities safe during periods of high bushfire risk, we also need to take pre-emptive safety steps. While these measures can sometimes affect your power supply, they are an important step to help protect lives and property by reducing the chance of fires
From September through to May, strong winds, lightning, and heatwaves can affect the network. When those conditions are combined with high bushfire risk, SA Power Networks must be especially vigilant in operating the network safely. We don’t want customers to be caught off guard when these conditions arise.
To prepare the electricity network for extreme weather, we work closely with the CFS, SES and other emergency services throughout the year and especially during higher-risk months. Our year-round work includes:
- Clearing trees and vegetation near powerlines
- Inspecting poles and wires, especially in bushfire-risk areas
- Upgrading and maintaining equipment to handle high summer demand
The key message: Extreme weather can impact the electricity network at any time – have a Power Outage Plan ready all year round.
Preparing your Power Outage Plan
These resources will help you to consider important things like:
- What are the essential things you rely on regularly, and which additional things should you consider if you live in a regional or remote location?
- How will you keep in touch with people during a power outage, and access the latest updates?
- Do you rely on medical equipment and which additional measures should you take to help ensure your health and wellbeing during a power outage?
- How will you remain safe and comfortable if you experience a power outage?
We recommend you complete your Power Outage Plan as soon as you can and:
- Share your plan with your family and friends, and help them prepare one too, if they need help
- Keep a copy in an easy-to-find spot
- Review and update it regularly – well before each summer is a good time
From September to March in particular, keep up to date with fire danger forecasts and conditions. Stay particularly alert on extreme or catastrophic fire danger days, and ready to put your Power Outage Plan into action.
The CFS provides updates on Total Fire Bans, forecast and current Fire Danger Ratings and Fire Danger Season dates:
| Fire Danger Ratings | Fire Danger Season Dates |
We will always do our best to keep all customers informed about what is happening with their power supply. You can sign up for free outage alerts and report outages and hazards.
Together, our preparations and your planning will help keep South Australians safe this summer.
Bushfire Protection Settings
Applied on days of high fire danger, such as when a Total Fire Ban is declared.
This is like turning up the sensitivity of the system. Normally, if a branch or animal touches a line, the network may briefly switch off and automatically restore in seconds — so customers barely notice. With protection settings on, however, the power stays off until our crews inspect the lines and confirm it’s safe. This reduces the risk of a fire starting but can mean that a fault which would usually go unnoticed results in a longer outage.
While these outages are inconvenient, they are a necessary trade-off to protect lives, property, and the community.
Bushfire danger explained video - how we manage the power network.
Power disconnections – a last resort
Completely switching off power to an area to help reduce the risk of fires starting is rare and only used as last resort to protect lives, property, and the community in situations where windspeeds are very high and there is extreme fire risk.
Disconnections are limited to designated bushfire-risk areas, as set out in the Electricity Act 1996.
What this means for you
Our preparations for extreme weather happen all year round – and the warmer months bring heightened risk, even before summer and the Fire Danger Season.
- Weather-related power outages: Most interruptions are caused by the prevailing conditions - storms, lightning, strong winds and prolonged heatwaves.
- Pre-emptive safety measures: Sometimes, we need to act before or during severe weather help to reduce bushfire risk. These steps — such as activating bushfire protection settings or, rarely, disconnecting power — can mean longer or more noticeable outages.
- Proactive vs reactive response: Outside September–March, our work is mostly about being ready to respond quickly when extreme weather impacts the electricity network. But during the higher-risk months of September–March, we may need to take more proactive steps to safely operate the network, which can mean greater impacts for customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
See the FAQs below for helpful information and common questions.
We recommend that you create your Power Outage Plan as soon as you can and share this information with your friends and family, so they know what to do when the power is out, and in an emergency.
You can sign up for free SMS and email alerts so we can notify you when we’re aware of a power outage at your property — including both planned and unplanned outages.
To register, you’ll need the NMI (National Metering Identifier) on your electricity bill. You can also add family members, caregivers, friends, or other members of your household or business to receive these updates. This is especially important for anyone who depends on life support equipment.
Ensure that you are registered as a life support customer so we know you depend on electricity. Registration doesn’t mean power can’t go out, so you should also have a backup plan in place. Talk to your doctor or medical provider about your needs and check with your NBN provider about backup batteries for medical alarms.
For more information on how to complete you a backup plan, visit Power Outage Plan for life support customers.
Visit the outage map for real-time updates, or check if you’ve received an SMS or email alert. You can also call our faults line on 13 13 66 if you need to report an outage or want more information.
You can tune into ABC Emergency for the latest warnings and updates or use the ABC listen app to stream emergency broadcasts on your mobile device.
Yes. Generators can provide backup power, but they must be used safely. Only connect them with a licensed electrician and always operate them outdoors to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Check using generators for back-up power for more advice.
Your NBN service will not work without mains power. It’s important to keep your mobile and a portable charger fully charged. Also consider mobile broadband and have a backup plan for any medical or emergency alarms. For more information visit NBN | How to be well-prepared in an emergency.