Community Articles
Residents kept in the Dark over Power Outages in The ‘Loo
20th January 2026 by local resident Corinna M.
Since Boxing Day, McElhone Street and surrounds have suffered from a series of blackouts, which culminated with a (hopefully) final 24hr black out on the 18th of January. When Ausgrid finally worked out the issue of damage to one of the underground cables, they descended on McElhone street with about 15 service vehicles, jack hammers, cement cutters and mini diggers. It was very exciting. Due to the age of these underground cables, there was inevitable deterioration, but don’t worry, Ausgrid is currently working its way through Woolloomooloo, replacing all the ancient cables, so there are a few more blackouts to come before work is completed.
However, a beacon of light illuminated this gloomy situation. Neighbours who never or rarely met, came out of their homes and into the streets with much joking and comradery. The energy was electric as we bonded over our mutual powerlessness, but we were still in the dark as to how long this current power outage would last. There was a lot of speculation on how long the food in our fridges and freezers would last, and if Ausgrid would reimburse for loss of perishables. We decided next time we should just bring out the BBQs and have a fridge emptying street party, so hey we might even look forward to the next service disruption.
I would like to shine a light on some of current advice from Ausgrid and the Food Safety information Council and a few notes on general preparedness and safety for the next time you’re plunged into darkness.
• It might be tempting to light a candle, but candles are a leading cause of home fires during power outages. Instead, prepare with flashlights and fresh batteries, battery-powered lanterns, rechargeable LED lights, and it’s a good idea to have a fully charged battery pack for recharging your phone.
• If you find yourself unprepared, ask your neighbours if they have spares of these items.
• Check on your neighbours to see if they’re ok.
• Unplug sensitive equipment like computers, TVs and smart devices in case a surge of power damages them.
Don’t open your fridge or freezer unless you are transporting your food into an esky or a working fridge or moving your fridge items quickly into the freezer. Your food will remain safe in your refrigerator for 2 hours, any longer than this and you are advised to:
• Remove ice bricks from the freezer and place in an esky.
• Remove all meats, poultry, dairy and potentially hazardous food (for example dips, pâté, ham, prepared and cooked food) from the refrigerator and place in a cooler with frozen bricks or gel packs.
• If you have no ice bricks, The Friendly Grocer corner shop, Cellarbrations and the Servo (when it reopens) all sell ice.
• Salted butter, margarine and hard cheeses will remain safe at room temperature.
• Food stored in a refrigerator or esky at more than 5 °C for 4 hours or more should be thrown out… if in doubt - throw it out!
• Freezers that are in good condition can keep foods at safe temperatures for between 1 and 2 days. If the freezer door is kept shut, a full freezer can keep food chilled for up to 48 hours, while a half full freezer can be kept food chilled for 24 hours.
• Do not open your freezer door unless absolutely necessary.
• https://www.foodsafety.asn.au/when-the-power-goes-off/
If you have experienced an unplanned power outage for 12 hours or more, Ausgrid may consider a customer service payment for food spoilage of up to $250.
The Terms & Conditions are a bit ambiguous and I don’t know of anyone who successfully made such a claim, but it’s worth giving it a go. You can claim for spoiled food due to an unplanned blackout and emergency maintenance, and also for damaged sensitive electronic equipment:
For those on essential electrical medical equipment Call Ausgrid General Enquiries on 13 13 65 (Mon - Fri 9.00am to 4.30pm) or 13 13 88 in the event of a power outage or emergency.
If a power outage results in a life-threatening situation, call 000 and request an ambulance immediately.
More information from Ausgrid can be found here:
https://www.ausgrid.com.au/Outages/Life-support
