Blackouts loom as North East braces for an early start to fire season

The operator has inspected more than 8000 power poles for the area spanning from Rutherglen to Towong and down to Abbeyard in a bid to safeguard the poles.

"There is increased risk of power outages this summer due to higher than usual electricity demand," the company's general manager of network operations and safety Prue Crawford-Flett said.

"The recently released Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook warned there is a high chance of an early start to the fire season in Victoria this year.

"We've inspected 8836 power poles from the ground and via helicopter. These inspections resulted in proactive maintenance on 268 of these poles."

Ms Crawford-Flett said workers assessed 18,042 spans, the area between two power poles, for overgrown vegetation and cleared 2820 spans.

AusNet's electricity distribution network covers 80,000 square kilometres, which consists of 45,985 kilometres of overhead power lines, 7908 kilometres of underground cables, 417,145 power poles and 90,000 streetlights.

"We invested $52.7 million this year on vegetation management programs to ensure the network is well maintained," Ms Crawford-Flett said.

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