Ovens Valley MP, Tim McCurdy said Powercor had advised that design and planning work was largely complete, with on-the-ground construction expected to begin by mid-2026.
The works include replacing sections of powerline with higher-capacity infrastructure and upgrading voltage regulation equipment to improve network stability and reliability.
“Powercor has acknowledged that unstable voltage may have contributed to some recent unexplained outages, and I welcome the installation of new regulation equipment to reduce the risk of this happening again,” Mr McCurdy said.
In the interim, Powercor has confirmed it is manually monitoring voltage levels from its 24/7 control room and has rebalanced demand by shifting some customers onto alternative powerlines to improve reliability.
Powercor also outlined how restoration times were determined and communicated, noting that estimates were updated as crews assessed faults, particularly during days of extreme heat or elevated fire risk when additional safety inspections are required.
Mr McCurdy said while no network can ever be completely outage-free, these upgrades were essential for a growing regional centre like Yarrawonga.
“I will continue to monitor progress closely,” he said
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