Ausgrid affirms commitment to safety

Electricity Network Safety Management System report

30 November 2020

A business-wide focus on safety, including an overhaul of how we work on live powerlines has seen a drop in reported safety incidents on Ausgrid’s network.

Ausgrid has published our annual Electricity Network Safety Management System performance report which outlines the activities that Ausgrid is doing to improve safety across the network including the management of bushfire risk.

It includes information about major incidents on the network, safety risks from the loss of electricity supply and how Ausgrid communicates safety messages to the public.

The safety of the community and our people is our number one priority and pleasingly this year’s report notes that there have been no major incidents involving the safety of the public or anyone working on the Ausgrid network.

We have expanded regular public storm safety messaging and customer updates in the wake of severe storm incidents in November 2019 and February 2020.

Ausgrid has identified and rectified more than 25,000 potential hazards on the electricity network as part our comprehensive annual safety program to ensure the electricity network is ready for bushfire season.

This year we carried out more than 200,000 air and ground inspections, with the vast bulk of the hazards identified relating to vegetation near powerlines.

We continue to remind the community they need to always stay at least 8 metres away from any fallen powerlines and always assume they are live.

You can download the full report here.