Review of electricity distributors' emergency preparedness and customer communication

In recent years, severe weather events have repeatedly disrupted Victoria’s energy supply, highlighting vulnerabilities in the state’s electricity distribution system. The most significant incident occurred on 13 February 2024, when a powerful storm caused widespread damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure. During the storm, electricity distributors faced record levels of website traffic as customers searched for outage updates. The sudden surge overwhelmed online systems, leading to crashes and limiting public access to essential information.

The event highlighted significant shortcomings in Victoria’s electricity distribution network, especially in emergency communication and response. The Victorian Government’s Network Outage Review found that many consumers were poorly supported during the crisis, with critical updates missed due to outdated or inaccurate customer contact information held by distribution businesses.

Our review

In response, the Essential Services Commission identified consumer protections during unplanned outages and emergency management as a compliance and enforcement priority. In December 2024, we undertook a review of the preparedness of Victorian electricity distributors to respond to unplanned outages and future extreme weather events, with respect to the Electricity Distribution Code of Practice provisions for which we administer compliance.

Scope of review

The review focussed on Victorian electricity distribution businesses. There are five electricity distribution businesses in Victoria. Each is responsible for a separate geographic region of Victoria.

• AusNet Services
• CitiPower
• Jemena
• Powercor Australia
• United Energy Distribution*

_{*CitiPower, Powercor Australia, and United Energy Distribution are collectively known as CPUE.}

The scope of the review required electricity distributors to demonstrate and provide evidence of their abilities to provide reliable and timely information to customers, including those who require life support equipment, during power outages and emergency events.

The review focused on electricity distributors compliance with the following specific regulatory provisions:

• Clause 11.3.1 of the Electricity Distribution Code of Practice, which sets out that electricity distributors must provide reliable and timely information to customers about the supply outage and the estimated time that electricity supply will be restored.
• Clause 22.2 of the Electricity Distribution Code of Practice, which sets out that electricity distributors must develop and test emergency response plans which are designed to deal with a range of emergency situations, including extreme weather events.

The review strengthened the commission’s understanding of how electricity distributors provide timely information and manage emergency situations. This insight enables the commission to respond more effectively during extended outages and to support distributors in keeping customers informed and safe.

What we looked at

Outage tracker performance and testing

As part of our review, we asked electricity distributors about the capacity of their outage tracking systems and the processes they use to update estimated restoration times during unplanned outages. We found that:

• All distributors test the capacity of their outage trackers to handle at least twice the peak website traffic recorded during the 13 February 2024 storm.
• Estimated restoration times are updated once field crews arrive on-site and assess the situation.
• Restoration work only begins when it is safe to do so. As a result, estimates may vary depending on the severity of the outage, the number and type of incidents, and the availability of crews in affected areas.

We acknowledge that several factors influence how frequently and accurately restoration times can be updated. During unplanned outages, distributors prioritise identifying the cause of the outage and restoring power to customers as quickly as possible.

The commission recognises that in some situations, it may be difficult for distributors to obtain accurate information to update estimated restoration times. If consumers are concerned that updates are delayed, they have the option to call the distributor directly and ask to speak to an operator for more timely information about the outage affecting them.

Under the Electricity Distribution Code of Practice, distributors must provide either an estimated restoration time or a timeframe for when reliable information will be available. We expect distributors to continue improving their systems and processes to ensure that restoration time estimates are timely, reasonable, and useful to customers.

Communication channels

We recommend consumers to save the outage tracker of their electricity distributor as a ‘favourite’ on their web browser and (if possible) follow their social media accounts so that you can be kept informed during a significant outage or emergency.

We found that:

• All electricity distributors meet the requirement to provide a 24-hour phone service with access to a live operator.
• All electricity distributors meet the requirement to provide regularly updated outage information on a prominent section of their websites (outage trackers).
• Distributors' phone services use Interactive Voice Recognition to help customers access outage details.
• Most distributors also use social media and TV or radio broadcasts to keep customers informed during unplanned outages or emergencies.

AusNet and CPUE serve large, remote areas and have emergency response vehicles equipped with mobile charging, satellite internet, hot drinks, and blankets. They deploy these vehicles to support communities where communication infrastructure is down.

The table below sets out the other communication channels that each electricity distributor uses to keep customers informed during an unplanned outage or emergency, and the capabilities of their respective emergency response vehicles.

Emergency response plans

Our review found that all electricity distributors collaborate with industry and government organisations to develop and test their emergency response plans. AusNet and Jemena conduct annual reviews of their plans, while CPUE review theirs at least every two years. All distributors maintain regular engagement with key stakeholders to discuss emergency management, and they incorporate relevant updates and improvements into their plans.

The Electricity Distribution Code of Practice requires electricity distributors to develop and periodically test emergency response plans in co-ordination with relevant organisations. We expect distributors to continue improving their processes and procedures to ensure that they can effectively respond to and manage emergencies.