SA Power Networks tackles flying fox problem

With Adelaide’s growing grey-headed flying fox* colony on the move again with a new brood of young, SA Power Networks is taking action on bat-related outages.

This is a recurring problem in the state, with customers experiencing either extended outages or short ‘momentary’ outages as equipment reconnects power if the animal falls clear after contacting electricity infrastructure. Most of these outages occur in the early hours of the morning.

In mid-March the power company reported that there had been 27 bat-related power outages so far in 2023, including ones that impacted more than 30,000 customers mainly in the western and northern suburbs (stretching from Mile End and Thebarton down to West Beach all the way to Bolivar) during one March weekend.

In 2021 there were 82 bat-related outages impacting 92,000 customers and in 2022 there were 89 outages affecting 109,000 customers.

“We expect outages to increase in coming weeks as juvenile bats become more active and forage for food,” said SA Power Networks Head of Corporate Affairs Paul Roberts.

“This is a significant issue for us and our customers, though thankfully most outages occur in the early hours of the morning while most of us are sleeping,” Roberts said.

“We are actively working to minimise these power outages, and the risk of electrocution to the flying fox colony. However, there is no simple and easy fix,” he continued.

“We suspect that it is mainly juvenile bats that are getting caught up in our infrastructure. They haven’t fully developed so they get fatigued while foraging at night for food and look for a place to land and rest.”

To reduce bat-related outages, SA Power Networks has been installing animal guards on pole-top equipment on the most impacted powerlines and at spots where there were repeat outages. Also, a program of installing additional switch points has helped to reduce the number of customers impacted by these outages when they do occur.

“The colony has grown significantly in recent years and bat-related outages are widespread across the metropolitan area and occur at random locations,” Roberts said.

“Given we have hundreds of thousands of poles, we have a lot of work to do over the next decade installing animal guards and covering more of our equipment to be able to significantly reduce bat-related outages.

“This has become a much more serious problem in recent years, and we will be seeking funding in the 2025–2030 regulatory period to step up our preventive work,” Roberts said.

What to do if you see a grey-headed flying fox in powerlines

SA Power Networks advises South Australians to report injured animals to either of the following organisations:

• Bat Rescue SA on 0475 132 093
• Fauna Rescue Flying Fox and Microbat Team on (08) 8486 1139
   

Power outages should be reported to SA Power Networks on 13 13 66.

Do not touch injured animals if you have not been trained in how to do it safely.

^{*The grey-headed flying fox, commonly referred to as a ‘fruit bat’, is a protected species listed as vulnerable. The colony arrived in SA in 2010 from the eastern states and nests in Botanic Park near the Adelaide Zoo. Its numbers may now exceed 30,000.}

Image credit: iStock.com/ Ken Griffiths