Must have been a big drone to bring down a power line?
Drone causes blackout in Kingsley after bringing down powerlines
PerthNow
May 22, 2019 11:59AM
TOPICS
WA News
A drone has been blamed for wiping out power to around 3000 Western Power customers on Tuesday night after it crashed into powerlines in Kingsley.
The incident occurred just after 7pm with customers reporting a power line had fallen across the road near the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Whitfords Drive.
Andy Shaw, Western Power Head of Safety, said an emergency response crew attended to make the area safe. A network operations team restored power about 8pm, redirecting electricity through unaffected parts of the grid.
“The cause of the outage is believed to be from a drone flying in to the network after reports from customers of a drone flying in the area moments before the outage,” Mr Shaw said.
“The drone was then reported to have been picked up by a member of the public after the line had been brought down.”
Worryingly, Mr Shaw said, a member of the public potentially put their safety at risk to collect the downed drone soon after the crash.
“What is concerning is the report of a person allegedly coming close to a fallen powerline to retrieve some of their property, and not thought to make the safe call and stay away from a potential electrical hazard,” he said
“We always treat these types of hazards as an emergency incident and will send the closest crew, under lights and sirens, to attend to ensure the community is safe from the potential of electric shock.”
Drone causes blackout in Kingsley after bringing down powerlines
PerthNow
May 22, 2019 11:59AM
TOPICS
WA News
A drone has been blamed for wiping out power to around 3000 Western Power customers on Tuesday night after it crashed into powerlines in Kingsley.
The incident occurred just after 7pm with customers reporting a power line had fallen across the road near the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Whitfords Drive.
Andy Shaw, Western Power Head of Safety, said an emergency response crew attended to make the area safe. A network operations team restored power about 8pm, redirecting electricity through unaffected parts of the grid.
“The cause of the outage is believed to be from a drone flying in to the network after reports from customers of a drone flying in the area moments before the outage,” Mr Shaw said.
“The drone was then reported to have been picked up by a member of the public after the line had been brought down.”
Worryingly, Mr Shaw said, a member of the public potentially put their safety at risk to collect the downed drone soon after the crash.
“What is concerning is the report of a person allegedly coming close to a fallen powerline to retrieve some of their property, and not thought to make the safe call and stay away from a potential electrical hazard,” he said
“We always treat these types of hazards as an emergency incident and will send the closest crew, under lights and sirens, to attend to ensure the community is safe from the potential of electric shock.”