❓ Mr Catania raises concerns about frequent power outages in Kalbarri. The Minister acknowledges the issue, attributing it to a long feeder line, climate change, and delays in microgrid construction, while highlighting government efforts to improve the situation.
AnsweredQoN 394Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY — KALBARRI
394. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the series of power
outages yesterday—I believe five in total; one from 9.30 am to 1.00 pm—adding
to the pain and suffering of Kalbarri
residents with continuing unreliable power to the community. What is the
minister doing to ensure reliable power supply for the community, which
has already suffered so much?
394. Mr V.A. CATANIA to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the series of power
outages yesterday—I believe five in total; one from 9.30 am to 1.00 pm—adding
to the pain and suffering of Kalbarri
residents with continuing unreliable power to the community. What is the
minister doing to ensure reliable power supply for the community, which
has already suffered so much?
AnswerView source ↗
I am very pleased to answer the
question. I want to say to the residents of Kalbarri that I understand the
frustration of being without power. Modern society is based on the use of
electricity and we understand that when people are without electricity, it
makes it hard for them. Unfortunately at the moment, there is a long feeder
that serves the community; therefore, weather disturbances have a big impact on
it. That is unfortunate. It is about the fact that those people are served by
such a long feeder.
One of the reasons that people are
experiencing a larger number of outages than we would like is climate change. I
hope that the Nationals WA will support the Western Australian Labor
government, under the leadership of the Premier, in our work to try to reduce
carbon emissions in Western Australia. We hope that the National Party will
demand that the federal government supports those actions and supports setting
a zero target for emissions in Australia for 2050.
In the meantime, although we need
this action from the commonwealth government to take genuine action on climate
change, we are not letting the people of Kalbarri stand idle. I want to
acknowledge that the majority of Kalbarri residents voted Labor at the last
election. I want to make the point to them: even if you did not vote Labor, I am
not going to leave you alone. We are spending nearly $7 million on building a new
microgrid. It is unfortunate that for a range of reasons the microgrid was not
ready before cyclone Seroja hit. Therefore, we allocated all our resources to reconnecting the traditional network
in Kalbarri. I want to congratulate Western Power and its workforce for completing that incredibly difficult task in
record time. I remind people that in Victoria, after the floods there, there
are still people without power. In Western Australia, we renewed a grid the
size of Tasmania using our state-owned enterprise.
We look forward to the microgrid
being ready. That will allow greater resilience. It will mean that there is
power on the other side of the long line, so if the long line is disturbed, the
microgrid will come into action and supply the people of Kalbarri. I apologise
again to the people in Kalbarri that for a range of reasons—not the
least being that when the former government announced the microgrid, it
actually did not contract anybody to build it—it has been delayed,
including by the impacts of cyclone Seroja.
question. I want to say to the residents of Kalbarri that I understand the
frustration of being without power. Modern society is based on the use of
electricity and we understand that when people are without electricity, it
makes it hard for them. Unfortunately at the moment, there is a long feeder
that serves the community; therefore, weather disturbances have a big impact on
it. That is unfortunate. It is about the fact that those people are served by
such a long feeder.
One of the reasons that people are
experiencing a larger number of outages than we would like is climate change. I
hope that the Nationals WA will support the Western Australian Labor
government, under the leadership of the Premier, in our work to try to reduce
carbon emissions in Western Australia. We hope that the National Party will
demand that the federal government supports those actions and supports setting
a zero target for emissions in Australia for 2050.
In the meantime, although we need
this action from the commonwealth government to take genuine action on climate
change, we are not letting the people of Kalbarri stand idle. I want to
acknowledge that the majority of Kalbarri residents voted Labor at the last
election. I want to make the point to them: even if you did not vote Labor, I am
not going to leave you alone. We are spending nearly $7 million on building a new
microgrid. It is unfortunate that for a range of reasons the microgrid was not
ready before cyclone Seroja hit. Therefore, we allocated all our resources to reconnecting the traditional network
in Kalbarri. I want to congratulate Western Power and its workforce for completing that incredibly difficult task in
record time. I remind people that in Victoria, after the floods there, there
are still people without power. In Western Australia, we renewed a grid the
size of Tasmania using our state-owned enterprise.
We look forward to the microgrid
being ready. That will allow greater resilience. It will mean that there is
power on the other side of the long line, so if the long line is disturbed, the
microgrid will come into action and supply the people of Kalbarri. I apologise
again to the people in Kalbarri that for a range of reasons—not the
least being that when the former government announced the microgrid, it
actually did not contract anybody to build it—it has been delayed,
including by the impacts of cyclone Seroja.
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