Hall grants

Five halls across Baw Baw Shire are set to benefit from AusNet's emergency resilience grant.

The grant is designed to reduce impacts of power outages in rural areas, with AusNet providing $102,000 for three-phase switchboard upgrades to be undertaken at Athlone Mechanics Institute (Athlone Public Hall), Bell Stadium Rawson, Seaview Mechanics Hall, Thorpdale Mechanics Hall, and Willow Grove Public Hall.

To launch the project, community events will be held at Athlone this weekend and at Thorpdale in April.
Council lodged the grant application following the February 2024 storm event, which caused significant damage to Victoria's electricity transmission and distribution networks and left many Baw Baw Shire rural communities without power for significant periods of time.

Two generators on trailers also were funded and recently delivered to the council depot. Baw Baw Shire Council is working to prepare guidelines to determine when and how these resources will be delivered to the most suitable sites during periods of extended power outage.

Mayor Kate Wilson said the support provided by the grant was a welcome asset for rural community members.
"The switchboard upgrades and generators will allow each community hall to be fully utilised during a prolonged power outage. This is an important step in readying our communities for future extreme weather and other emergencies where power is affected," Cr Wilson said.

Emergency readiness community events will be held at:
Athlone Public Hall - Saturday, February 28, 10am to 1pm;
Thorpdale Public Hall - Friday, April 10 from 5pm to 8pm.
All community members are welcome to attend the sessions, where there will be a free community meal, emergency readiness information, giveaways of disaster preparedness resources, and displays by AusNet and local emergency services.