Acting regional general manager, John Dowler, said information from customers is invaluable during emergencies.

"By reporting interruptions and other emergencies on 13 20 80 customers are helping us to locate problems, restore supply more quickly and ensure public safety," he said.

Mr Dowler said that during storms and bushfires, there can be delays in answering calls, as thousands of customers may contact Country Energy in a short period of time.

20 80 supply interruption number can answer up to 600 calls.

"During a major storm or bushfire this can increase to more than 10,000. In December for example, our call centre advisers answered more than 95,000 calls, with 98 per cent of these answered within 10 minutes," he said.

"During these high volume periods we may use an interactive voice message to advise customers of supply interruptions in their area.

"If people are satisfied with the information they can hang up or can wait to speak with a customer service adviser.

"These options allow our customer service advisers to respond more quickly to customers who are reporting new problems or have information about an outage in their area."

John explained that it is not always possible to advise customers when power will be restored, however, information is regularly relayed to call centre employees from the field.

During a storm or bushfire Country Energy recommends customers –

* Check if other homes in the neighbourhood have power. If they do, check for a blown fuse or a circuit breaker that has tripped to the "off" position

* Check if the Drop out Fuse (DOF) has blown (rural customers)

* Call 13 20 80 to report a supply interruption, fallen powerline or other power-related incidents, not the general enquiries line

* Call 000 if you believe the situation is life threatening