Electricity outages

Neither TasNetworks nor your energy retailer can guarantee the supply of electricity 100% of the time.

The electricity supply can be disconnected through unplanned outages caused by a number of factors such as severe weather events (wind, lightning, etc), birds and animals impacting conductors and motor vehicle accidents.  It is prudent for electricity customers to install protective devices, such as surge protectors, to mitigate the risk of an unplanned outage damaging electrical appliances.  You can obtain further advice on these devices from the retailers of electrical goods.

The electricity supply can also be disconnected to undertake repairs or maintenance to the distribution network.  There is a prescribed period of notification for either TasNetworks or your energy retailer to provide a customer before a planned outage is undertaken.  When the supply is re-energised, after a planned outage, it is possible for a surge to impact household appliances, so protective devices can also mitigate the risk of damage following a planned outage.

It is generally the case that TasNetworks is not liable to pay compensation for damage resulting from an unplanned electricity outage if the outage was outside its control.

There are regulated Guaranteed Service Level (GSL) payments available to eligible customers based on the duration or frequency of outages.  GSL payments are capped at $160.00.