Those who lost power due to extreme heat on 28 January will get between $80 and $180

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Thousands of Victorians will receive an “unprecedented” one-off compensation payment over power outages linked to recent extreme heat.



Those who lost power between three and 20 hours on 28 January will receive $80, while those who were in the dark for 20 to 30 hours or more will get up to $180.



The payments will be provided by Powercor, CitiPower, United Energy, Ausnet Services and Jemena as part of a $5m package.



Victoria heat blackouts spark blame debate as 7,000 properties without power Read more

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said the payments were “unprecedented”.



“Under the rules that have been there for many, many years, well before we came to government, the payments would only be made to those who had lost power for, say, 12 hours,” he told reporters on Sunday.



The payments will be issued to about 50,000 people by the end of February and are separate to other claims for financial loss.



Heat and humidity on 28 January led to crippling pressure on the state’s distribution network.



The state government says it is working with the Australian energy market operator and industry to make sure supply needs are met during extreme weather.