Backup power boost to support communities during extreme weather

Gippsland Water has invested $6.8M in a fleet of new generators to reduce interruptions to services during times of emergencies.  

The organisation will deploy 25 new generators to critical sites across the service area. 

Managing director Sarah Cumming said that extreme weather events in recent years highlighted the demand to invest in generators.   

"In recent years we’ve seen more extreme weather events in our service area than ever before,” Ms Cumming said. 

“These events have caused downed power lines, widespread power outages and damage to infrastructure. 

“These new generators provide a backup for those sorts of scenarios and ultimately reduce the likelihood of services being affected.” 

Ms Cumming said Gippsland Water had selected sites based on the vulnerability of the surrounding electricity network and the number of customers connected, including a particular focus on sites in bushfire prone areas.  

“Power outages have the potential to take key assets like pump stations offline and by extension, affect our ability to keep water and wastewater services running,” Ms Cumming said. 

“As always, our priority is to make sure we can provide safe drinking water to people’s taps and reliable wastewater services year-round.” 

When not being used for power outages, the generators can support the national grid, creating revenue for the organisation, which puts further downward pressure on customer bills.  

Customers can stay up to date with information about emergency outages at www.gippswater.com.au/emergencies.