POWERCOR will continue with planned outages despite regulations forcing central Victorians to stay home.
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One Axedale resident fears interruption to his family's work and schooling from an outage on Tuesday.
The family is one of 85 customers in Axedale due to lose power for nearly seven hours.
It comes as thousands of people work and learn from home, in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Victorian regulations require residents stay home, except for essential shopping, medical, care and compassionate needs, exercise or work and study that cannot be done remotely.
The outages are part of works to install safety switch-like REFCL devices around Bendigo, to help prevent bushfires.
The second tranche of REFCL installation is due by April 2021.
Electricity was switched off to about 850 customers in Bendigo on Sunday for eight hours as part of these installations.
Axedale resident Brian Hosking said the family had just got daughter Lucy into the routine of school, only to have it interrupted on Tuesday.
Mr Hosking said his wife was working from home, as one of the few members of her team not stood down.
He said the pair would be unable to work or learn without power, needing computers and the wireless NBN.
They will also have to fill water containers before the outage, as their water supply is pumped using electricity.
Mr Hosking said his wife could possibly work from her office for a day, but that would still leave his daughter without supervision.
The family was given the required five days notification by Powercor.
Mr Hosking called the company to ask if it was postponed, but was told it was mandated government work.
"The work that's going ahead is all good work, it's to do with bushfire safety. I have no issue with them needing to do this work, it's ... the timing of it," he said.
"It seems to be that they just want to get on with business as usual as much as they can, and their customers will just pay for it.
"I don't know what it means, whether my wife has to take leave, or whether she loses a day's pay. I don't know how that's going to work."
A Powercor spokesperson said the company was continuing to work on its REFCL program to improve community safety.
There was no change to the deadline of April 2021.
"There is never a convenient time to have a power outage and we understand that now more than ever, people are relying on the continuity of supplies as they work or study from home," the spokesperson said.
"As an essential service provider, we are continuing to operate during this period and this includes conducting critical works, such as the rollout of our REFCL program.
"We are reviewing all our critical maintenance to ensure we minimise the impact to our customers as much as possible."
Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the works were essential.
"Essential works to ensure safety, to reduce bushfire risk and keep the grid operating effectively will continue," she said.
"I know planned outages can be inconvenient, however ensuring a reliable and safe energy supply during this challenging time is why this maintenance is so important."
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Elspeth Kernebone
Accident brought me to journalism, but every day convinces me again that strong media is more important than ever. After a starting off as the sole reporter in a tiny NSW town, I’m loving the teeming metropolis that is Bendigo. Focussed on health, business and education. Got a tip? Email elspeth.kernebone@bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
Accident brought me to journalism, but every day convinces me again that strong media is more important than ever. After a starting off as the sole reporter in a tiny NSW town, I’m loving the teeming metropolis that is Bendigo. Focussed on health, business and education. Got a tip? Email elspeth.kernebone@bendigoadvertiser.com.au.
