One of the biggest power blackouts in Victorian history has sparked a push for an inquiry into the reliability of the transmission network.
About 530,000 homes and businesses were kicked off power on Tuesday when violent storms swept across the state, bringing down hundreds of power lines.
Most customers had their power returned within 24 hours but tens of thousands spent several nights in the dark and some remain off the grid.
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto accused the state government of failing to act on previous network reliability warnings and flagged plans to set up a parliamentary inquiry.
"We know these storm events are becoming more and more frequent and people are suffering unnecessarily," he told reporters on Monday.
Under the proposed terms of reference, the inquiry would look at the reliability and stability of distribution networks, the effect of the outages on homes and businesses and the cost of developing, maintaining and enhancing the network.
The six-member upper house committee would be made up of two Labor, two coalition and two crossbench MPs and provide a final report by June 30, 2025.
Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said the coalition was open to discussions with crossbench MPs on tweaking the terms of reference to win their support.
Even if the motion passes the upper house, the inquiry would be unable to compel Premier Jacinta Allan or Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio to appear as they are lower house MPs.
A Victorian spokeswoman noted Energy Safe Victoria was investigating the collapse of transmission towers near Geelong and described the Liberals' inquiry push as a political stunt.
"(This is) the same Liberal party that sold off Victoria’s power stations, transmission lines and distribution network to private for profit companies," she said in a statement.
Victoria's 6000km high-voltage electricity transmission system is owned and maintained by AusNet Services, but Mr Davis argued it was ultimately the government's job to ensure network security.
Sydney power company Ausgrid in 2020 calculated the cost of moving its entire network underground at between $72 billion to $130 billion and estimated it would take 40 years, raising consumers' bills by $1200 to $2200 a year.
Mr Pesutto said burying powerlines was worth considering in certain areas.
"In some parts, undergrounding might be possible. We know that in some parts it's simply not," he said.
Fewer than 5000 of homes and customers with AusNet were still without power as of late on Monday morning.
The company was aiming to have another 2500 back on the grid by later in the day.
The South Gippsland town of Mirboo North was among the communities hardest hit by the storms, with at least 16 homes rendered uninhabitable.
Residents have been told they can resume using water indoors but should hold off outdoors as the water treatment plant is still operating through a generator.
Lightning strikes from the storms sparked bushfires, which destroyed at least 45 homes at Pomonal and one at Dadswells Bridge in the Grampians region.
