Bushfire season may run from spring to autumn, but for Australia’s electricity networks preparing for it is a year-round job.  

This year the weather is raising the stakes. The Bureau of Meteorology declared an El Niño in June, and it may persist into autumn 2027.  

The Australasian Fire Authorities Council’s (AFAC) spring outlook flagged a heightened risk of fire across northern and south-eastern NSW, south-east Queensland, north-eastern Tasmania, parts of Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria, and large parts of the Northern Territory.  

Last season set the tone. Victoria alone saw Total Fire Bans declared on more than 20 days between October 2025 and March 2026 according to the CFA’s records. 

For networks, preparedness is about more than being compliant. It means understanding where the risk sits, acting on the best available information and continually improving from one season to the next.  

That approach runs through how ENA members prepare, and it shapes each stage of the season. 

Before the season: assess, inspect, confirm readiness 

Preparation starts with understanding where the risk sits. Members use bushfire consequence modelling across different weather conditions to decide where to focus and minimise the potential impacts of bushfires.  

A common industry methodology, developed through ENA’s Project IGNIS, is helping make that analysis comparable. That analysis shapes each network’s pre-season readiness program.  

Most of the work happens on the network itself. Crews inspect poles, powerlines and other critical assets in higher-risk areas, complete priority vegetation clearance and address identified defects.  

Aerial and ground inspections of poles and spans, often supported by LiDAR and drone imagery in high bushfire risk areas, help focus that effort.  

Networks also test bushfire mitigation equipment and confirm their seasonal protection arrangements, so the systems relied on during high fire danger are proven before they are needed. 

Readiness also means being prepared for when something goes wrong. Networks identify the critical communities and services that would be hardest hit by a prolonged outage and prepare the most appropriate actions, equipment and materials that may be needed in an emergency.  

They confirm that field crews, contractors and incident management arrangements are ready to respond. They also work with emergency services, local authorities and other organisations so response arrangements are coordinated before the season starts.  

Once it begins, monitoring of weather, fire conditions and network performance supports early operational decisions. 

Then comes assurance. Networks run cross-business summer readiness plans, with actions owned across operations, vegetation, field delivery and customer teams before the bushfire season starts.  

Networks don’t wait to be checked. They audit their own readiness before the season, testing inspection and maintenance records against conditions in the field, and that same evidence gives regulators confidence the work has been done.  

On high-risk days: a suite of actions to reduce ignition risk 

Networks are balancing two important priorities: reducing bushfire risk and providing reliable electricity. On the highest-risk days, how that balance is struck varies, but networks deliberately place greater emphasis on safety. 

When fire danger peaks, networks will change how they operate to reduce the chance that a fault on the network becomes an ignition. 

As bushfire risk increases, protection systems on higher-risk powerlines can be made more sensitive, so they detect and clear faults faster  

Many networks also carefully manage whether powerlines automatically switch back on after a fault, and on declared Total Fire Ban days that function may be disabled on higher-risk feeders.  

Generally, before supply is restored, crews patrol the line to check for damage, fallen vegetation or other hazards.  

That can mean some customers experience longer outages while the line is checked and made safe, which is why networks encourage customers to plan for outages when fire danger is high. 

These actions are guided by fire danger and fire behaviour information and fire ban declarations. 

Working with emergency services 

Preparedness also extends well beyond the network fence. State and territory governments and their emergency management authorities lead disaster response.  

The energy and telecommunications industries work within that framework, alongside the essential services that depend on power and communications being restored. 

Timely, accurate information holds that framework together. Knowing where outages are and how long they are likely to last helps emergency managers, communities and essential service providers prioritise their response, including where to send backup generators.  

Networks and telecommunications providers are investigating ways to improve data sharing and responsiveness. This year, telco-energy collaboration arrangements began in NSW and are now being explored nationally. 

Communities rely on the energy sector working in step with all these partners to build resilience, and to communicate swiftly and clearly across every channel. 

After the season: learn, benchmark, feed back into research 

The cycle closes with learning and knowledge sharing. ENA’s Resilience and Bushfire working groups convene so members can share lessons learned.  

Members also share the results of technology trials, new procedures or outputs from evaluating post summer data, so the whole industry benefits from each season’s experience. 

You can read about the last working group meetings here. 

Findings also flow into research. ENA is a partner of Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA), the national centre for natural hazards resilience and disaster risk reduction research, which brings together research, government, emergency management and industry partners to turn evidence into practical outcomes for communities. 

From planning before summer to learning after it, networks are working with emergency authorities, industry and researchers to reduce bushfire risk and support safer, more resilient communities.