• About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Events
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Newsletter
SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Events
  • Features
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Renewables
    • Batteries & Storage
    • Hydro Power
    • Hydrogen
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Smart Energy
No Results
View All Results
  • News
    • Events
  • Features
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Renewables
    • Batteries & Storage
    • Hydro Power
    • Hydrogen
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Smart Energy
No Results
View All Results
Home Disaster Management

Powercor runs bushfire safety tests in Ballarat

by Kim Ho
April 23, 2020
in Company news, Disaster Management, Electricity, News, Powerlines, Safety and Training
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Ballarat Powercor safety testing
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Electricity distributor Powercor has launched a program to test the safety of the area’s energy network from bushfire risk.

The testing involves the installation of Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiter devices (REFCLs) at the Ballarat North and Ballarat South zone substations. 

The devices operate in a similar way to a large safety switch on the network and are designed to minimise the chance of a spark occurring if a powerline comes into contact with the ground or a tree limb, thereby reducing the risk of fires starting from powerline faults.

As part of work to install the device in Ballarat North, Powercor crews are conducting testing from 21–23 April 2020. Similar testing will also occur overnight on 4–6 May.

Powercor REFCL Technical Director, Andrew Bailey, said the REFCL rollout was one of the most technically complex changes the electricity industry had seen in more than 30 years. 

“The testing validates the replacement work that we have already conducted and identifies whether other upgrades or changes need to be made to the local network to support the safety device,” Mr Bailey said.

There are no outages planned during this work, however testing can occasionally cause unplanned outages. 

“In the unlikely event of an outage, we have crews ready to respond as quickly and as safely as possible to get power back on to homes and businesses,” Mr Bailey said.

On 21 November 2019, which was Victoria’s first code-red declared Total Fire Ban day since Black Saturday, REFCLs detected and activated for six permanent faults and 32 temporary faults.

Between October and the end of January, there were 17 total fire ban days in western Victoria.  On these days, REFCLs activated 13 times for permanent faults and 75 temporary faults.

“REFCLs are keeping communities safer. They are providing our communities added protection and are improving the safety of our networks,” Mr Bailey said. 

Ballarat’s REFCLs will both be in operation by April 2021.

View more information about REFCLs here. 

Related Posts

NEAC director, Stephen Craig with a Living Lab participant. Image: CSIRO

CSIRO opens energy transition analysis centre

by Katie Livingston
July 17, 2025

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has launched vital new research infrastructure to support, accelerate and de-risk Australia’s complex energy transition.  ...

Image: Engineers Australia Chief Engineer, Katherine Richards. Image: Engineers Australia 

CSE25: Where engineering meeting impact

by Katie Livingston
July 15, 2025

Climate change is no longer a threat; it’s a baseline consideration in many engineering decisions.   From transport systems and...

Image: Habibur/stock.adobe.com

Navigating the energy trilemma

by Katie Livingston
July 15, 2025

As the sector reflects on the recent Australia Energy Week conference, several key themes and trends echoed those seen internationally....

Read our magazine

Join our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.
Energy is a thought-leading, technology-neutral magazine, developed to help the industry answer some of the Energy sector critical questions it is currently grappling with.

Subscribe to our newsletter

View our privacy policy, collection notice and terms and conditions to understand how we use your personal information.

About Energy

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Digital Magazine
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Collection Notice
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Topics

  • News
  • Spotlight
  • Renewable Energy
  • Electricity
  • Projects
  • Networks
  • Sustainability
  • Gas

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited

No Results
View All Results
NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE
  • News
    • Events
  • Features
  • Electricity
  • Gas
  • Renewables
    • Batteries & Storage
    • Hydro Power
    • Hydrogen
    • Solar
    • Wind
  • Smart Energy
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Newsletter

© 2025 All Rights Reserved. All content published on this site is the property of Prime Creative Media. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited