Ausgrid blames wildlife for some electricity interruptions in the Maitland area

Ausgrid is aware of “five momentary interruptions” to the power supply since June in suburbs around the broader Maitland region.

“These were mainly caused by wildlife and lasted for less than a minute,” an Ausgrid spokesperson said.

“Wildlife can create a short circuit, which interrupts the supply.”

The spokesperson said the Maitland zone substation is connected to the network by two 33,000 volt powerlines and equipment attached to one of these powerlines is currently being upgraded.

“We expect this work will be completed by the end of September,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that on Saturday there was a fault on a piece of equipment called a surge arrestor on a local 11,000 volt powerline which created a short dip in the power supply at 1.11pm.

This equipment has now been repaired.

Ausgrid’s electricity network supplies power to 1.6 million homes and businesses across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter.

A number of residents commented on The Mercury’s Facebook page about the interruptions.

Robyn Dalton Nolan said she has experienced four power outages in the last five days in the Largs area, each lasting for a short time.

Cherie Langdon said she has had several power surges in Telarah.

Teamekua Lawrie Robards said Lorn has also been having regular power outages, once or twice a week over the past month, she said.

Sam White has experienced the same interruptions in Oakhampson while Karen Bryson and Mark Olive said Rutherford has been experiencing the short blackouts frequently.

Fairfax Media reported in February how Gillieston Heights residents had experienced a number of blackouts in their suburb and went to social media to vent their frustration.

The Gillieston Heighst blackouts were for a longer duration, some lasting up to two hours at a time.