East-west transport operators are being urged to fill up their tanks well before they hit the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie regions after severe summer storms caused a major power outage in regional WA.
The Western Roads Federation (WRF) advised industry earlier today that following a meeting of the WA State Emergency Resupply Group the power outage in regional WA is also impacting fuel stations.
WRF said operators should plan on Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie being without power for five days, meaning there will be no fuel available.
“Furthermore, it is our assessment that this will put pressure on Southern Cross and Norseman fuel stations,” said WRF CEO Cam Dumesny.
“We encourage operators to fill up their tanks outside of this area.”
Thousands of residents across Western Australia’s Goldfields and Wheatbelt are without power and have no word on when it will be restored, as temperatures soar towards 41 degrees in some parts, reports ABC News.
Western Power said it was working to restore electricity to approximately 15,000 homes and businesses in Merredin, Kellerberrin, Kalgoorlie and surrounding areas after storms caused significant damage to local infrastructure.
The utility’s executive manager of asset operations Zane Christmas said the Kalgoorlie outage was caused yesterday when lightning struck a critical communications tower near Merredin and a network that feeds the Goldfields town tripped.