STORM damage to two lines connecting the Kerang power station to the Swan Hill sub-station resulted in blackouts for almost 10,000 customers for more than 27 hours.
At the peak of the regional energy crisis, about 18,000 customers were without power. Households and businesses were affected primarily in Swan Hill, but as far south as Bendigo and Castlemaine.
Lake Charm was the epicentre for damage to power infrastructure caused by the violent storm which some emergency personnel described as a mini-tornado.
Several concrete power poles, including some adjacent to the Murray Valley Highway, were destroyed by the intense weather event, with power lines strewn across the ground and hanging low over bush and scrub.
Power poles also came down away from Lake Charm, with work being undertaken up to 10km from the town itself, according to a Powercor spokesperson Drew Douglas.
Mr Douglas confirmed the local sub-station officially went off the grid at about 10pm on Sunday with around 9000 customers losing power in Swan Hill from about 8.30pm.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (February 18).
