Power blackout warning as temperatures soar, dust storms and mud rain threaten Victoria

Temperatures are soaring across Victoria, prompting power blackout warnings and the chance of mud rain as sweltering hot and humid conditions continue across the state.

Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority issued a warning at 10.30am on Friday that people in Melbourne should prepare for a dust storm in the afternoon.

“Today’s air quality across will range from moderate to hazardous.

“The majority of the state will be affected by a dust storm today. The dust storm will reach Melbourne by late afternoon. Take care & stay indoors away from smoke and dust where possible,” the EPA alert said.

The latest warnings come as Victoria faces its highest demand for electricity in six years on Friday – just hours after a unit at one of its major power stations failed on Thursday night.

NSW residents and visitors are also being urged to remain vigilant ahead of extreme heat conditions over the weekend, bringing heightened health and bushfire risks, as temperatures are expected to reach the mid-40s due.

The failure of the unit at Loy Yang power station in the Latrobe Valley – which supplies a third of Victoria’s energy – put more pressure on the rest of the state’s grid.

“That unit failed with no notice at all,” state Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.

“Today [Friday] is going to be challenging. Coal generators can fail with little or no notice, as we saw last night.”

The Australian Energy Market Operator has urged Victorians to reduce their energy use between 1pm-8pm to help prevent electricity blackouts as temperatures across the state soar into the 40s.

“While there are currently sufficient electricity reserves to manage the peak electricity demand today, this situation could change,” the regulator said on Friday.

It said people should avoid running additional appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines, set air-conditioners between 23-26 degrees and temporarily switch off pool pumps to help reduce use across the state.

But AEMO also stressed people’s health and wellbeing was the highest priority and they should conserve only energy when it is safe to do so.

The regulator said there might be blackouts if higher demand coincided with unexpected generation or transmission issues.

“For example, should a major generator fail, or weather conditions further deteriorate,” it said.

Temperatures are expected to exceed 40 degrees across much of  Victoria on Friday. Melbourne is forecast to hit 43, while 44 is tipped for many inland towns.

The heat is expected to raise fire risks, with severe fire danger forecast for Friday in the Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central, South West and Central districts.

A total fire ban is in place for all state regions except Gippsland and the north-east.

Bushfire-ravaged East Gippsland experienced the effects of elevated fire danger on Thursday night, with an emergency alert issued for a blaze that threatened lives and homes at Bendoc and Bendoc Upper, near the Victoria-NSW border.

The alert was later downgraded to “watch and act” level.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesman at the Orbost incident control centre, told the ABC more than 100 Victorian firefighters were working on the fire with personnel from NSW.

“There’s a lot of heavy smoke in the air this morning,” he said.

“That may reduce our ability to have any air operations over the fire.”

Mr Nixon said the fire was about 12 kilometres east of the much larger community of Bendoc.

“We’re pretty confident that if that fire does move to the west of Bendoc that we have the resources to deal with that,” he said.

Victoria’s heat will be followed by possible flash flooding and muddy rain from late Friday.

The increased humidity combined with extreme heat will create tropical oppressive weather that will make Melbourne feel more like Darwin.

Melburnians have been urged to be aware of potential changes to public transport during the hot spell.

•  NSW rTotal fire bans have been issued for the Monaro Alpine, Southern Ranges and Southern Slopes areas due to dry and windy conditions.

  The Bureau of Meteorology is also reporting coastal winds for Friday and Saturday as strong as 30 knots, which may pose risks to boats or people swimming in areas along the coast.

  “Special care should be taken when swimming in rivers and dams where submerged objects may pose unexpected risks,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said in a statement.

  “If your children are out swimming, whether that is at the beach, a river, a dam or your backyard pool, and regardless of their age – they need to be supervised.”

  Authorities are reminding the public to drink plenty of water, keep cool indoors if possible, look out for signs of heat-related illness in others and to have a plan for medical assistance if a medical emergency arises.

  Conditions are expected to cool across NSW early next week.

-with AAP