Update, 4pm:
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Power outages have returned to central Victoria with more than 9000 customers affected.
In the Bendigo area, the worst affected areas are in Kangaroo Flat, Maiden Gully and Lockwood South, as well as Epsom, Huntly, Strathfieldsaye, Junortoun, Axedale, Sutton Grange and Redesdale areas.
The towns around Newbridge and Tarnagulla are also badly affected.
Parts of Bendigo including Spring Gully, Flora hill, Kennington, Strathdale, White Hills, Calirfornia Gully, Eaglehawk, Long Gully, and central Bendigo are also affected.
In total 94 towns are affected but outages at present.
South of Bendigo, areas in and around Castlemaine, Kyneton, Woodend and Daylesford are also without power.
Estimated restoration times are listed between 6pm and 7.30pm.
Update, 2.30pm:
POWER has been restored to thousands of homes across Victoria.
12.20pm:
POWER remains out to 4,971 Powercor customers, largely in central Victoria.
The Powercor website states the estimated time of restoration as 10am Friday, but is still warning of the outages.
Castlemaine, Campbells Creek, Chewton and Malmsbury are among the worst affected.
9.30am:
THOUSANDS are now without power around central Victoria as outages have spread.
Flora Hill and Strathdale are now among the areas experiencing outages.
A total of 5032 Powercor customers are without electricity.
Earlier:
THOUSANDS of central Victorians are without power as outages hit near Castlemaine.
Nearly 5000 Powercor customers are without electricity supply.
Castlemaine, Campbells Creek, Malmsbury and Chewton are among the worst affected, with power out to 1323, 900, 465 and 414 customers respectively.
OTHER NEWS:
Customers in Taradale, Guildford, Fryerstown, Yapeen, Faraday, Vaughan, Elphinstone, Metcalfe and Axedale are also among those affected.
Power is expected to be restored between 10am and 11am for most customers.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate change Lily D'Ambrosio has urged Victorians to reduce power use between 1pm and 8pm on Twitter.
Ms D'Ambrosio said power supply would be very tight on Friday due to hot weather, and variables such as bushfires, stress on transmission lines and aging coal plants.
Bendigo is forecast to reach 43 degrees on Friday. By 8.30am temperatures were at 28.5 degrees, after a low of 21.4 overnight.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned the market their may be a lack of reserve between 4.30pm and 6pm, due to forecast high temperatures.
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