TARRONE district farmers sparked up yesterday morning when electricity was cut to their properties without warning forcing some to turn unmilked cows back into their paddocks.
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At least six dairy farms were affected by what appears to be an administrative short-circuit by the electrical distributor.
Powercor’s official website said 58 customers at Orford, 54 at Tarrone and two at Willatook were affected by scheduled infrastructure upgrade work on the Laidlaws Road line.
A spokesman told The Standard yesterday these customers would have been sent written notification four business days earlier. “They were letter dropped,” he said.
However, Powercor crews also upgraded crossarms and insulators on nearby Tarrone Road where property owners said they had no prior warning their supply would be cut off.
It left farmers with unfinished milkings and unwashed dairy sheds.
Some were able to bring in generators while others had to let their unmilked cows back into the paddock with full udders hoping supply would be back by the evening session.
Electricity was restored shortly after 3pm. “It’s just not good enough — we are paying customers so we should have been warned,” one farmer said. “We were not happy campers.”
Anne McGrath was caught out when about 30 Macarthur Pony Club riders and parents turned up to her property for the scheduled monthly competition. “We had to get two generators to run power to get the food ready,” she said.
The Powercor spokesman said he would make further inquiries today.
