Power Restored in Clayfield Hours After Thousands Suffer Through Brutal Heatwave

Clayfield heatwave
Photo Credit: Geralt/Pixabay

Power has been restored for more than a thousand Clayfield residents amidst a sweltering heatwave gripping South East Queensland. 

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As the temperature peaked at 37.4C on Friday, the 3rd of February 2023, Clayfield locals lost power in the afternoon and spent half of the day in the crippling weather.




Traffic lights were out on the streets, causing a build-up along Sandgate Road, Junction Road and Oriel Road. Outdoor activities for the weekend were called off or postponed as the extreme temperature became unbearable and unsafe.

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Despite this, Clayfield Seafood Markets remained open but stall operators were unable to cook as they needed electricity for the customers’ orders. Visitors to the markets were also not able to use the internet. 

Power was also out in a large section of Jamboree Heights, Middle Park, Warren Park and Beaudesert but Clayfield had the biggest outage in Brisbane with over 1,800 customers impacted.

However, Energex restored the power by the evening and reported no more interruptions in South East Queensland as of 8:00 a.m. Saturday. 

Justin Coomber, the Energex spokesman, clarified that the outage was not because of the heatwave. 

“The network is coping pretty well at the moment,” he said on Neil Breen’s radio show. “[They were] just run-on-the-mill outages on the network.” 

Planned power outages for critical maintenance will also continue for the rest of the schedule. However, Commber also asked locals to call 131962 if they are still experiencing power interruptions so they could investigate if there are unusual incidents.

Coomber also said that the peak load of the network is usually between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. when most people are back at home from work or school and are powering up all their appliances and gadgets.  

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said that the heat is expected to cool down by early Sunday with the temperatures going back to average by Monday. On the other hand, Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said that they have been doing system tests to ensure that any issues with the power supply will be manageable. 

Locals are advised to look after the vulnerables like babies, the elderly, and people with medical conditions, and make sure that they are in a cool, well-ventilated area.

For more info on dealing with the heatwave, visit Get Ready Queensland.

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