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South Australia Power Outages

Australia has no open live feed, so the quickest way to check South Australia is the official outage map from SA Power Networks.

SA Power Networks is the state's only distributor. South Australia has no coal generation: wind and solar supplied 77.1 per cent in 2025 and gas 21.3 per cent, the highest wind and solar share of any state. It is best known for the statewide blackout of 28 September 2016, when tornadoes damaged transmission lines and some 850,000 customers lost supply. In a heatwave on 8 February 2017, AEMO directed 100 MW of load shedding and about 300 MW was actually cut.

Population
1,916,800
Estimate, 2026
Distributor
SA Power Networks
Weather warnings
See site
Bureau of Meteorology
Major past events
4
South Australia statewide blackout…

Who to contact in South Australia

The distributor responsible for faults in South Australia. Search your address on its official outage map.

Australia distributors, outage map links and phone numbers
DistributorOfficial outage mapReport by phone
SA Power NetworksOpen ↗13 13 66

If you see a fallen power line, stay at least 10 metres away and call 000.

South Australia on the Australia map

New South WalesVictoriaQueenslandWestern AustraliaSouth AustraliaTasmaniaAustralian Capital TerritoryNorthern TerritoryNew South WalesVictoriaQueenslandWestern AustraliaSouth AustraliaTasmaniaNorthern Territory
Australia has 8 states and territories, shown over a 800 by 786 map.

Boundaries: Australian Bureau of Statistics, ASGS 2021, CC BY 4.0.

Weather warnings

We don't republish Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warnings, so nothing here can go out of date. See current warnings on its site ↗

Largest places in South Australia

  • Adelaide
  • Victor Harbor - Goolwa
  • Mount Gambier
  • Whyalla
  • Murray Bridge
  • Port Lincoln

Nearby states and territories

Reliability in South Australia

Average minutes without power and interruptions per customer, as published by the regulator or operator

DistributorTime without powerInterruptionsYear
SA Power Networks2 hr 22 min—2024

Definitions vary by source, for example in how major storms are treated, so these figures aren't a ranking. See each operator's page for the exact scope.

Major power outages affecting South Australia

Totals may cover every area affected, not only this one. Full accounts are on the Australia page.

  1. South Australia statewide blackout (Black System event)

    28 September 2016

    850,000 customers affected

    AEMO's final report describes some 850,000 South Australian customers losing supply when severe weather damaged transmission lines and the state's system went black.

    Source: AEMO, Black System South Australia 28 September 2016, Integrated Final Report (March 2017)

  2. February 2017 heatwave load shedding (South Australia and New South Wales)

    8 February 2017

    On 8 February AEMO directed 100 MW of load shedding in South Australia for 27 minutes, and about 300 MW was actually interrupted.

    Source: AEMO, System Event Report South Australia, 8 February 2017

  3. January 2009 Victorian heatwave load shedding

    29 January 2009

    Source: AER, Victorian electricity distribution businesses comparative performance report 2009

  4. National Electricity Market suspension (no customer blackout)

    15 June 2022

    No customers lost power

    Source: AEMO, NEM market suspension and operational challenges in June 2022

South Australia power outage FAQ

Who do I contact about a power outage in South Australia?

SA Power Networks (13 13 66) repairs the local network in South Australia, which includes Adelaide, Victor Harbor - Goolwa and Mount Gambier.

What was the biggest power outage in South Australia?

South Australia statewide blackout (Black System event) (28 September 2016) affected about 850,000 customers. AEMO's final report describes some 850,000 South Australian customers losing supply when severe weather damaged transmission lines and the state's system went black.

How reliable is the power supply in South Australia?

SA Power Networks reported 2 hr 22 min of interruption per customer in 2024. Scope differs between sources, so treat these as a guide and not a ranking.

Cite this page

You may reuse our derived data under CC BY 4.0 with attribution. Warnings are © Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Check each source's licence before reuse.

PowerOutageTracker.com. "South Australia Power Outages." Accessed 4 November 2026. https://poweroutagetracker.com/world/australia/south-australia
Sources (5)