The remote Northern Territory town of Jabiru has been facing rolling blackouts since New Year’s Eve, with no clear indication of when power will be properly restored to the area.
The town’s power station, run by energy provider EDL Energy, has been struggling to fix problems with its generators and keep the lights on since 2pm on December 31.
Power and Water Corporation (PWC), which sells power to Jabiru residents sourced from EDL, said in a statement efforts to repair the generators had so far been unsuccessful.
PWC says it is ‘doing everything possible to support the restoration of a safe and reliable power supply to the area’. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)
“The cause of the issue with generators is ongoing and EDL are continuing efforts to complete complex repairs,” a spokesperson said.
“At present we do not expect that EDL will be able to complete generator repairs until next week.”
PWC said it was “sourcing and dispatching temporary generators” to send to the township on Friday in an effort to “support the community and minimise disruption”.
“We acknowledge the impact of the power disruption has had on the community and are doing everything possible to support the restoration of a safe and reliable power supply to the area,” they said.
“We will continue to provide updates as the situation unfolds.”
Health clinic closes due to outages
Jabiru’s main health centre, the Red Lily Health Clinic had to close on Friday due to the rolling power outages.
In a statement, the clinic said staff would still be available “to respond to emergencies or urgent matters including requests for regular prescription medication, appointments, information or where patients have been asked to return for follow-up or daily care”.
Peter Keepence says the blackouts have left residents sweating through hot wet season nights. (Supplied: Peter Keepence)
Jabiru Golf Club manager Peter Keepence said he was concerned about the possibility of losing food stock at the club.
“It seems like power’s going out for a couple hours at a time at different areas,” he said.
“Through the night, people have their air conditioner going, power goes out, it gets you a bit warm, wakes you up.
“And then you’re just sort of not sure when the power’s coming back on.”
Since 2023, the town on the edge of Kakadu National Park has been powered by a micro-grid which operates on a hybrid model of solar, battery and diesel generation.
The Jabiru Power Plant switches to energy from the solar farm when the sun comes up, but relies on diesel generators and battery storage when it’s dark.
An EDL spokesperson said the energy provider was aware of the reliability issue in Jabiru and “apologises for any inconvenience this may cause”.
“We are working closely with Power and Water Corporation to restore supply as quickly as possible,” they said.