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Approximately 10,000 customers in the south-eastern part of the city were affected after a carpark on Little Collins Street became flooded, causing several traffic lights in the area to go out. This information was confirmed by a spokesperson from Citipower.
The flooding reached a substation located in the basement, prompting a power shutdown in the CBD as a precautionary measure.
Footage shared by 3AW’s Jacqui Felgate reveals the extent of the flooding in the CBD carpark.
This particular site is responsible for supplying electricity to about 10,000 residents in the south-eastern sector of Melbourne’s CBD.
In response to the situation, CitiPower had to disconnect the grid to properly evaluate the extent of the damage.
“We have been able to restore power to more than 4000 customers by redirecting power supply from other parts of the network,” a spokesperson said.
About 5700 customers were without power as of 5.30pm.
By 7pm, a little under 5000 customers were still offline around the city.
Up to 40 sets of traffic lights across the city centre, East Melbourne and South Yarra were left without power, according to VicTraffic.
“When traffic lights aren’t working, you must follow the same rules at an intersection that has a stop or give way sign or line,” VicTraffic said in a post on X.
Drivers have been warned to stay alert in the impacted suburbs.
Some Metro train lines were delayed by the power shut-off.
“Our crews are on site and working to remove the water so they can safely access the zone substation and assess any damage,” the spokesperson added.
“We will keep customers updated by SMS and on our website on restoration times.”
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