Backburning operations have been carried out near Tumut in a bid to stop bushfires damaging major electricity infrastructure and causing widespread blackouts across southern NSW and Victoria.
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As the Dunns Road fire burns through the Snowy Valleys shire, TransGrid and the Rural Fire Service decided to go ahead with the backburning late on Thursday, ahead of predicted hot and windy conditions on Friday and Saturday.
There were concerns that the Dunns Road fire was a risk to the Upper Tumut, Lower Tumut and Murray substations.
Also at risk from the massive bushfire, which has already burned 134,000 hectares, is the interconnector between NSW and Victoria.
A spokesperson for Snowy Hydro confirmed that "impacts to TransGrid power lines or assets could potentially lead to blackouts in NSW and Victoria".
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"Snowy Hydro continue to closely monitor the bushfires across the Snowy Mountains. In addition to community safety and our power stations, the issue for energy security is any impact to the transmission lines," the spokesperson said.
"Snowy Hydro is providing emergency and community support where we can and have representatives in the emergency operations centre in Tumut."
After attending a briefing in Tumut on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack warned the Dunns Road bushfire, along with more than 140 others burning around NSW, "have been extraordinary in the potential damage they could cause".
"We have just heard from officials here that a third of Melbourne's power supply is up here in the hills of the Snowy Mountains and what we want to make sure is that those assets are protected, so the firefighters will do everything they can to protect those assets, to protect those power resources, to protect properties, to protect lives, most importantly," he said.
On New Year's Eve, fires triggered widespread blackouts after major transmission lines were affected.
