Only days after the State Government admitted depleted coal reserves will result in coal imports to WA as well as a text message campaign that will alert power users to decrease power at peak periods, another incidence has further exposed WA’s fractured energy system.
Perth’s first 30+ degree day in months has seen the system buckle, with over 8,000 homes left without power.
Western Power stated the reason for the majority of outages was ‘localised faults’ rather than heat, on the first truly warm day in WA for months.
WA Liberal Leader and Shadow Energy Minister, David Honey MLA, said it was completely unacceptable that the distribution network could be under pressure on the first day of warmer weather.
“Last year’s outages saw over 100,000 homes without power on a plus 40-degree day, not an unusual occurrence in a WA summer. It is disturbing to see a 30-degree day has put over 8,000 homes in the dark.
“To see so many outages on a mild day brings into question the overall integrity of the electricity network.”
Dr Honey also said the outages raise questions on Energy Minister, Bill Johnston’s performance since the 2021 Christmas Outages.
“One does need to ask how much work the Minister has done to prepare WA’s electricity system since the infamous 2021 Christmas Outages.
“The subsequent independent report of the disastrous outages released in March revealed WA Labor had underspent on the distribution network by $368 million dollars over the last few years.
“The Minister has had over a year to prepare for this summer and though some outages are unavoidable, this is not a good start on the Minister’s report card.
“If we see yet another summer of blackouts, Minister Johnston needs to be moved on from his energy duties,” said Dr Honey.
