May 25, 2022
Cherbourg residents are facing a long, seven-hour power outage on Thursday (May 26).
Energex work group leader Guy Tanner told Cherbourg Radio the blackout would start at 8:00am and run until 3:00pm.
It will allow Energex to hook up a huge “Pegasus” generator down near Jack O’Chin Oval which will take over supplying power to the community while other electrical upgrade works are undertaken.
The Pegasus unit will be hauled into the community on the back of several massive semi-trailers.
The power outage will not affect Cherbourg Hospital, which has its own generator, and small generators will supply power to the childcare centre, the school and retirement home.
“Keep your fridges and freezers closed as much as you can. The food will be fine,” Guy said.
But he warned there would be lots of trucks, between 20 and 40 Energex workers “and lots of noise” around the community on Thursday.
The Energex power upgrades began on May 16.
Guy said the corporation was replacing 55 high-voltage poles between the Murgon substation and Cherbourg as well as about 10km of high-voltage wires.
The aim was to provide a more reliable power supply to Cherbourg during storms or floods.
“Everything we are doing is to make the network a bit more robust for the storms,” Guy said.
The Pegasus generator will power the community until next Thursday (June 2).
On that day, another small power outage is planned, from about 4:00pm to 4:30pm, while the generator is taken offline and the community is reconnected to the State electricity grid.
Guy said Energex would be returning to Cherbourg during the September school holidays to undertake more work, replacing poles and wires around the community.
Footnote: Thursday is also a gazetted public holiday in Cherbourg for National Sorry Day.
