Power Outage Hits 500,000 Victorian Households Amid Sweltering Weather

Widespread hot weather has led to fires in Victoria and high temperatures plus rain storms in other parts of the nation. It’s been a scorcher for multiple states, but Victoria has been hit hardest by high temperatures. Two fires raged in a national park and the electricity grid was hit as Victorians sweated through Tuesday, when temperatures surpassed 40 degrees Celsius in some parts of the state. An estimated 500,000 properties were without power as towers collapsed in heat, transmission lines tripped, and multiple generators disconnected from the grid. “These power outages are due to storm activity, strong winds, and lightning causing damage to the electricity network,” the Australian Energy Market Operator said in a statement....