Blackout situation 'appalling' : Sawyer

Darwin's failing electricity network and the latest round of blackouts has damaged Darwin's reputation as a capital city, according to the Darwin City Council. More than 15,000 homes in the northern suburbs were without power last week because of explosions in the city's ageing power system, and Power and Water has warned the area could suffer a week long blackout if the Casuarina sub-station fails again. The corporation has ordered back-up generators from interstate to ensure a major outage does not happen, but the generators won't arrive until next week. In a letter to residents, it says the back-up generators will be placed in open spaces such as parks and housed in shipping containers fitted with silencers. But it has warned that electricity will be rationed if it has to rely on emergency generators. The Darwin Lord Mayor... [read full story]