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Evoenergy operations in response to COVID-19

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Evoenergy workers

25 Mar 2020

We have been monitoring COVID-19 as it evolves and like many of you we are sad to see the direct impact it is having on our community. During this time, our focus is on providing a safe and reliable energy supply, and ensuring the health and wellbeing of our people.

In response to COVID-19, we have implemented a number of initiatives and changes in the way we operate to support the community including:

scaling back planned outages to critical maintenance, essential and safety related work and postponing non-essential work 
conducting additional network checks and monitoring for hospitals, medical centres and Emergency Service Agency sites and ensuring any maintenance or repairs receive priority service
not disconnecting residential or small business customers without their agreement until 31 July 2020
waiving disconnection and reconnection fees for small businesses that have temporarily ceased operation
waiving the Network Use of System Daily Fixed Charge for small businesses impacted by COVID-19, and
prioritising safety for customers who require life support equipment.

Planned works

We are doing everything we can to keep the power on, gas flowing and our network safe and reliable.

We understand many Canberrans continue to spend more time at home however, we need to continue some critical preventative maintenance to ensure our network is safe, prevent damage to properties and avoid more serious faults that could cause long term outages. It does mean that sometimes, we need to turn power or gas off temporarily so the work can be done safely and quickly.

We have scaled back planned outages to critical maintenance, essential and safety related work and postponing non-essential work. All planned outages are also reviewed on a case-by-case basis as we work to balance maintaining a safe and reliable network and minimise the impact to customers. Thank you for your support and patience as our team work hard to continue to support the ACT community.

We will post planned outages proceeding for the day every morning on our social media channels. You can check our planned outages schedule on our outages map.  If you have an upcoming planned outage, read more about how to prepare.

We will be continuing to provide support where possible for customer-initiated works such as meter readings, re-energisations, connections for electricians, builders and other small businesses so people can continue to keep their businesses and homes running.

Major technical work and projects will continue with increased hygiene controls to ensure we can keep on with the critical work to support our large customers and the growth of the ACT.

Depot operations

We have limited travel between our essential service sites, and have increased work health safety practices for all staff and separated our critical staff into geographically isolated teams with access to devices, systems and technology platforms that enable remote working.

Evoenergy’s face to face customer service team, office, depot and worksites are closed to all external visitors.

These changes will provide additional protection for our staff and the community by limiting person-to-person contact and minimising potential exposure and spread of the virus.

Our contact centre continues to operate 24 hours a day and our crews are prepared to respond to network faults and emergencies. Non-urgent enquiries can be submitted to us online or via social media.

We ask for everyone’s patience as our staff and crews prioritise critical work to maintain the safe operation of the electricity and gas networks and support our customers.

This page will be updated with changes to our operations or you can follow us on social media. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What happens if my power supply is interrupted during the COVID-19 situation?

    Our contact centre continues to operate 24hrs a day and our crews are prepared to respond to network faults and emergencies.

    It is essential our crews stay safe to keep the power on, so we ask the community to help by ensuring you follow social distancing protocols.

    If you experience an electricity fault or emergency, please call 13 10 93.
    If you experience a gas fault or emergency, please call 13 19 09.

    View all current outages.

  • There is a planned power outage in my area - can the outage be delayed?

    All planned outages are reviewed on a case-by-case basis as we work to balance maintaining a safe and reliable network and minimise the impact to customers. Thank you for your support and patience as our team work hard to continue to support the ACT community.

    We will post planned outages proceeding for the day every morning on our social media channels. You can check our planned outages schedule on our outages map.  If you have an upcoming planned outage, read more about how to prepare.

    Please call our Contact Centre on 13 23 86 to discuss your situation.

     
  • Why are Evoenergy crews still working in the community?

    We are working to balance the need for social distancing with the need to maintain a safe and reliable electricity and gas supply. Our crews remain available to respond to fault and emergency work.

  • Why are planned outages continuing?

    We are doing everything we can to keep the power on, gas flowing and our network safe and reliable.

    We understand many Canberrans continue to spend more time at home however, we need to continue some critical preventative maintenance to ensure our network is safe, prevent damage to properties and avoid more serious faults that could cause long term outages. It does mean that sometimes, we need to turn power or gas off temporarily so the work can be done safely and quickly.

    We have scaled back planned outages to critical maintenance and safety related work and postponing non-essential work. All planned outages are also reviewed on a case-by-case basis as we work to balance maintaining a safe and reliable network and minimise the impact to customers. 

     
  • I am registered as having Life Support Equipment – what does this mean for me?

    Our obligations in relation to customers registered as having Life Support Equipment have not changed. If this is you, please ensure your emergency device management plan is up to date.

    You can call our Contact Centre on 13 23 86 to discuss your situation if you have any further questions. 

  • I've lost my income and can't pay my bill. What can I do?

    We encourage you to contact your energy retailer to discuss your circumstances.

    For residents and small businesses, we have introduced the following initiatives: 

    not disconnecting residential or small business customers without their agreement until 31 July 2020
    waiving disconnection and reconnection fees for small businesses that have temporarily ceased operation
    waiving the Network Use of System Daily Fixed Charge for small businesses impacted by COVID-19
     
  • Can I visit the Evoenergy office

    Can I visit the Evoenergy office and worksites?

    No. The Evoenergy depot and worksites are currently closed to all external visitors. If you believe you have an urgent need to attend an Evoenergy site, please contact us on 13 23 86. 

  • What if I notice trees or bushes growing too close to the electricity network?

    Our normal process still applies, please report trees or vegetation near powerlines online or call 13 23 86.

More information

ACT Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) information

 

For further media information only:

Evoenergy
0414 515 359

facebook.com/EvoenergyACT

@EvoenergyACT

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