Electricity provider, Ergon Energy is offering a free SMS service to keep consumers up to date with power outages.

With storm season prone to causing power issues, Ergon Energy says now is the time for people to sign up for free power outage and restoration SMS notifications.

The service also provides property owners with an SMS reminder five days before any planned power interruptions for network maintenance occur at their address.

Executive General Manager Customer, Michael Dart said the SMS service is ideal for helping people plan their lives around unexpected and planned disruptions to power to their house.

“At Ergon we know any power interruption can be inconvenient, but these SMS notifications will allow you to better plan when outages occur,” Mr Dart said.

“For example, when our crews have to carry out network maintenance and need to interrupt power we’ll always send a notification via post at least four days beforehand, but people who have signed up for the SMS service will also get a text.

“When unexpected outages occur during events such as storms, we will send an SMS to affected customers and another text once power is restored.

“This allows customers to make other arrangements – they can leave their property when the outage occurs and return once they receive a text that power has been reconnected.”

To receive outage notifications register at ergon.com.au/selfservice or phone 13 74 66.

Mr Dart said you’ll need to have your latest electricity bill handy to answer a couple of questions.

Ergon Energy customers wanting to keep an eye on power issues in their area in near real time can also check the Outage Finder for details.