❓ Dr. Honey questions the necessity of energy reduction text messages given average temperature predictions, and why the Minister didn't ensure sufficient electricity supply. The Minister deflects by referencing past Liberal Party energy saving campaigns and highlighting the success of text messages in January.
AnsweredQoN 746Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY —
OUTAGES
746. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the government's
announcement that it will send residents in some suburbs at risk of suffering a
blackout text messages telling them to reduce their energy consumption in an
attempt to avoid the widespread blackouts that occurred on the minister's
watch last Christmas.
(1) Considering the minister attributed last year's
Christmas outages primarily to unusually high temperatures , can he
explain why such a measure is necessary when temperatures for December are
predicted to be average for that time of year?
(2) Why did the
minister not do more over the last year to ensure the electricity supply would
be sufficient for all Western Australians this Christmas?
OUTAGES
746. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the government's
announcement that it will send residents in some suburbs at risk of suffering a
blackout text messages telling them to reduce their energy consumption in an
attempt to avoid the widespread blackouts that occurred on the minister's
watch last Christmas.
(1) Considering the minister attributed last year's
Christmas outages primarily to unusually high temperatures , can he
explain why such a measure is necessary when temperatures for December are
predicted to be average for that time of year?
(2) Why did the
minister not do more over the last year to ensure the electricity supply would
be sufficient for all Western Australians this Christmas?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
have a copy of an extract from Western Power's 2014 annual report. Can
the member remember who was in government at
the time? It says, ''Together we can beat the peak between 4pm and 8pm''
and it shows somebody with their air conditioner on 24 degrees. Here is
some marketing collateral from when the member's
party was in government. It says, ''Reduce your energy use between 4pm
and 8pm''—with a dead marsupial inside a wheel. I make it
clear: I am not going to kill any marsupials! Here we have a running marsupial
inside a wheel. This one says, ''Make saving energy your new year's
resolution''.
Ms S.E. Winton : Can you
table that?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : If the member wants me to. It says, ''Make
saving energy your new year's resolution''—a different
version of the same ad. This one says, ''If it is on standby, it is still
running'' and ''Switch your future''.
There is absolutely nothing unusual
about telling people to save money and reduce their use. That is exactly what Western Power and Synergy did when the Liberal
Party was in government. I agree that we did not run that campaign for a
few years. That was probably an error on my behalf, and I apologise to the
community for not continuing to remind people of these commonsense activities.
I will also let the member know that in January this year, after the Christmas
outages, Western Power used the facility that it already had available to it to
send text messages to customers in an area within which there was a potential
for an outage. Do members know what happened? The community responded to those
text messages and outages were avoided. We have simply reminded people, through
television ads, of what they can do to make the system more sustainable, reduce
carbon pollution and reduce costs, exactly as the Liberal Party did when it was
in government.
have a copy of an extract from Western Power's 2014 annual report. Can
the member remember who was in government at
the time? It says, ''Together we can beat the peak between 4pm and 8pm''
and it shows somebody with their air conditioner on 24 degrees. Here is
some marketing collateral from when the member's
party was in government. It says, ''Reduce your energy use between 4pm
and 8pm''—with a dead marsupial inside a wheel. I make it
clear: I am not going to kill any marsupials! Here we have a running marsupial
inside a wheel. This one says, ''Make saving energy your new year's
resolution''.
Ms S.E. Winton : Can you
table that?
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : If the member wants me to. It says, ''Make
saving energy your new year's resolution''—a different
version of the same ad. This one says, ''If it is on standby, it is still
running'' and ''Switch your future''.
There is absolutely nothing unusual
about telling people to save money and reduce their use. That is exactly what Western Power and Synergy did when the Liberal
Party was in government. I agree that we did not run that campaign for a
few years. That was probably an error on my behalf, and I apologise to the
community for not continuing to remind people of these commonsense activities.
I will also let the member know that in January this year, after the Christmas
outages, Western Power used the facility that it already had available to it to
send text messages to customers in an area within which there was a potential
for an outage. Do members know what happened? The community responded to those
text messages and outages were avoided. We have simply reminded people, through
television ads, of what they can do to make the system more sustainable, reduce
carbon pollution and reduce costs, exactly as the Liberal Party did when it was
in government.
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