Strathbogie Shire Council was the recipient of over $130,000 as part of AusNet’s Energy Resilience Community Fund Major Grants.
Twelve other councils and community groups were also chosen to receive the grant, with a total of close to $2.4 million invested.
Executive general manager distribution Andrew Linnie said the grant was created to fund community projects that would build long-term energy resilience, as well as to provide support to communities in recovery from severe weather events.
“These major grant projects will build community energy resilience, delivering important and impactful change to communities across these regions, helping them to stay connected and safe during prolonged outages and emergencies,” Mr Linnie said.
The twelve other recipients of the grant include Baw Baw Shire Council, Casey City Council, Mansfield Shire Council, Nillumbik Shire Council, three community groups in the South Gippsland region, four community groups in the Wellington Shire region and Yarra Ranges Shire Council.
Strathbogie Shire Council will put its grant towards a 160kVA generator and infrastructure required for a shower and power hub and meeting rooms, for an emergency relief centre.
AusNet established the $12 million Energy Resilience Community Fund to support projects across AusNet’s electricity distribution network in Victoria following the storms in February last year.