Dr. Steve Thomas questions the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation regarding power outages in Bullsbrook, including frequency, duration, causes, substation capacity, and fire risk related delays. The Minister provides data on outage frequency and general information on resolution times, substation capacity meeting demand, and adherence to DFES advice.

AnsweredQoN 1235Legislative Council
Asked
24 February 2026
Portfolio
Energy and Decarbonisation

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to the locality of Bullsbrook, and I ask: (a) how many power outages have occurred in Bullsbrook in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 to date; (b) for each of the outages in (a) what was the duration of the outage and the cause of the outage; (c) which substations feed the Bullsbrook area and what is the capacity of each of those substations; (d) what is the peak capacity demand at Bullsbrook that is fed through those substations; (e) are those substations capable of providing the capacity needed at peak to Bullsbrook; (f) on how many occasions in 2025 and 2026 to date has reconnection of power users been delayed on advice of fire risk by DFES; and (g) what is the average length of delay of reconnection in part (f)?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
14 April 2026
Responded by
Leader of the House representing the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation
Response time
8 days
(a)
2023 – 81 unplanned outages
2024 – 97 unplanned outages
2025 – 85 unplanned outages
2026 (to 24 February) – 56 unplanned outages
(b)
Around one in three unplanned outages were resolved within an hour and close to 90% were resolved in under 12 hours.
(c - e)
Muchea and Wanneroo Zone Substations currently meet Bullsbrook’s peak demand.
(f – g)
Western Power follow the advice provided by Department of Fire and Emergency Services and can only intervene to enable reconnection when it is safe to do so.

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