Residents of the Goulburn Valley, particularly in Tatura and Cobram, have been grappling with an unusual problem – power outages caused by bat strikes. Powercor, the region’s power provider, has been working diligently to address the issue, which has been described as the worst period for bat strikes on their network in decades.
According to Jordan Oliver from Powercor, they’ve experienced dozens of outages across the region, including Tatura, Mooroopna, Shepparton, and Numurkah. “We haven’t changed anything on our network year to year, but we are experiencing more outages in these areas,” Oliver said. The cause behind the surge in bat activity remains unknown, but the company is taking proactive measures to combat the problem.
Drawing on advice from experts, particularly from Queensland where larger bat colonies exist, Powercor has installed visual aids on power lines and insulators to help bats see and avoid them. “Since we’ve installed those devices we haven’t seen another outage on that line,” Oliver said, indicating early success. Over the next week Powercor will be installing over 200 similar devices in the Tatura and Mooroopna areas.
Powercor is also trialling a new strobe light in an orchard in Tatura, hoping to deter bats from the area. While the company acknowledges the frustration of customers, they remain committed to resolving the issue and ensuring reliable power supply for the region.
