NT power outage temporary, gas flows again

Territorians are breathing a sigh of relief as gas flow has been restored to a pipeline that powers electricity generators for the Top End.

There were fears on Thursday the region would experience a blackout similar to the one in March that shut down Darwin for 12 hours.

But Essential Services Minister Willem Westra van Holthe said Power & Water Corporation (PWC) generators should be back to full power on Thursday night.

He said a communications error between the offshore Blacktip oil platform and mainland operations stopped gas flowing through the Bonaparte pipeline, leaving only a limited amount to power the Channel Island Power Station, which services the Darwin and Katherine regions.

The government has been rationing electricity through rolling one-hour blackouts in the suburbs while working to resume the gas supply.

Mr Westra van Holthe said the NT government's contingency plan usually relied on accessing gas from the ConocoPhillips Darwin LNG plant, but its pipeline was undergoing maintenance.

He told the ABC that created a perfect storm that limited the Top End's power.

The Inpex LNG site, the RAAF Base, the Coonawarra base and Darwin's major shopping mall were affected by blackouts, along with dozens of residential suburbs.

The hospital and airport remained operational and both have back-up generators if required.

Police manned 49 intersections as traffic lights blinked out, and Territorians rushed supermarkets and petrol stations to stock up on supplies amid rumours power would be cut for two to four days, and numerous businesses closed early.

No schools or public service buildings will be closed on Friday and buses will run as usual, the government says.

The Top End was hit with a complete blackout that lasted more than 12 hours in some suburbs in March, halting business in Darwin as schools, offices and public services closed after a circuit breaker failed.

In May, the NT parliament passed a bill to separate PWC into three separate entities in a bid to improve the position of the beleaguered corporation, which has been plagued by debt.

Territorians, who are reliant on power to combat high temperatures year round, were slugged with a 20 per cent power price hike in 2013, with a five per cent increase this year and a further five per cent rise to come in 2015.