Essential Energy crews responded quickly to an unplanned power outage in north Orange on Tuesday afternoon, amid reports of a fallen powerline.
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Essential Energy operations manager for the Macquarie Jamie Warren said upon arrival, crews discovered a high voltage powerline had fallen on the corner of Anson and Phillip Streets.
"To ensure the safety of the public and property, electricity network protection equipment activated automatically after detecting a problem, switching power off to 1647 customers at 12.42pm," Mr Warren said.
"Working as quickly as safety allowed, crews rerouted the power network around the fault and restored power to 1459 customers at 2.28pm.
"Crews then set about completing repairs to the powerline and expect to restore power to the remaining 188 customers by 5pm this afternoon."
The outage was believed to have been caused by a bird impacting the high-voltage electricity network.
Mr Warren said Essential Energy reminds people to stay at least eight metres away from damaged or fallen powerlines.
"Always treat powerlines as live and remember that anything in contact with them, such as cars, trees or fences, can conduct electricity and pose a danger," he said.
"We encourage residents to immediately report fallen powerlines, network damage, fires or trees contacting powerlines to Essential Energy on 13 20 80 or call triple zero if the situation is life threatening.
"We thank the community for their patience and understanding as crews worked to restore power to customers as quickly and safely as possible."
More than 1600 homes are without power in Orange on Tuesday.
Homes and businesses, north of Matthews Avenue, west of Leeds Parade, and as far west as Brooklands Drive were affected by the outage.
The affected area included North Orange Woolworths and part of the north Orange industrial area.
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