Over 2000 Browns Plains homes were left without power last week, after a food delivery drone crashed into a high voltage powerline.
The incident occurred just after 2pm last Thursday, off Scrubby Creek Road.
Energex spokesperson Danny Donald said this was the first time something like this had happened.
“We expected it to be a small children’s drone, but when the crew got there it was a food delivery drone,” he said.
“This is the first time this has happened. We have seen a lot of different things including children’s drones but never a corporate food delivery drone.
“They are automated and it’s programmed through a computer, so we are not sure what happened there.”
Surprisingly enough, the food the drone was carrying was still piping hot when crews got there.
Mr Donald said the crews did their best to get the issue sorted quickly.
“The crew inspected the lines for damage and had to isolate the power to remove the drone,” he said.
“The drone hit one of our high voltages lines and unfortunately, before they could remove it safely, the drone caught fire and was completely destroyed.
“There were no other issue upon inspection, so the crew switched the power back on and within 45 minutes most customers had their power back.”
While most homes had their power restored, there were 300 homes left without power for three hours.
The food delivery drone was owned by Wing, who said in a statement the drone had to make a “precautionary controlled landing” coming to rest on an overhead powerline.
“We immediately reported this to Energex, who attended the location,” Wing’s spokesperson said.
“Two hours later, during the retrieval process, there was a power outage in the area. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Wing is currently conducting a review of the incident.
Mr Donald said Wing would not be charged for the incident.
“If there was further damage to the lines we can seek compensation, but the crew found no other issues,” he said.
