❓ Question regarding the lack of a gas supply disruption contingency plan after a near power disruption. Minister defends the response, citing existing contingencies and infrastructure upgrades, criticising alternative solutions as costly and impractical.
AnsweredQoN 149Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GAS SUPPLIES — CONTINGENCY PLAN
I refer to the embarrassing situation in January when Western Australia was on the verge of power disruptions because of a disruption in gas flow. Given that this incident highlighted just how vulnerable Western Australia’s power supply is because of the government’s lack of a strategic energy policy and a failure to plan, what is the minister’s explanation for why he does not have a specific contingency plan for the management of gas supply disruptions? Mr F.M. LOGAN
I refer to the embarrassing situation in January when Western Australia was on the verge of power disruptions because of a disruption in gas flow. Given that this incident highlighted just how vulnerable Western Australia’s power supply is because of the government’s lack of a strategic energy policy and a failure to plan, what is the minister’s explanation for why he does not have a specific contingency plan for the management of gas supply disruptions? Mr F.M. LOGAN
AnswerView source ↗
I feel pummelled by the questions! Oh dear, oh dear—we are going back to January now! I will first talk about the pipeline. The incident in January was unfortunate, but it was also very, very rare. The supply from the North West Shelf plant completely shut down. That has probably happened only twice or a few times during the life of its operations. Despite the fact that the gas was cut off for a quite significant time, did the lights go off in Western Australia? No. Was there complete chaos? No. Were we able to manage with a 25 per cent reduction in energy input into the generation of electricity? Yes, we were. That answers the member’s question. The total energy input into the generation of electricity in Western Australia dropped by 25 per cent and the lights did not go off. Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN replied: I feel pummelled by the questions! Oh dear, oh dear—we are going back to January now! I will first talk about the pipeline. The incident in January was unfortunate, but it was also very, very rare. The supply from the North West Shelf plant completely shut down. That has probably happened only twice or a few times during the life of its operations. Despite the fact that the gas was cut off for a quite significant time, did the lights go off in Western Australia? No. Was there complete chaos? No. Were we able to manage with a 25 per cent reduction in energy input into the generation of electricity? Yes, we were. That answers the member’s question. The total energy input into the generation of electricity in Western Australia dropped by 25 per cent and the lights did not go off. Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
I feel pummelled by the questions! Oh dear, oh dear—we are going back to January now! I will first talk about the pipeline. The incident in January was unfortunate, but it was also very, very rare. The supply from the North West Shelf plant completely shut down. That has probably happened only twice or a few times during the life of its operations. Despite the fact that the gas was cut off for a quite significant time, did the lights go off in Western Australia? No. Was there complete chaos? No. Were we able to manage with a 25 per cent reduction in energy input into the generation of electricity? Yes, we were. That answers the member’s question. The total energy input into the generation of electricity in Western Australia dropped by 25 per cent and the lights did not go off. Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN replied: I feel pummelled by the questions! Oh dear, oh dear—we are going back to January now! I will first talk about the pipeline. The incident in January was unfortunate, but it was also very, very rare. The supply from the North West Shelf plant completely shut down. That has probably happened only twice or a few times during the life of its operations. Despite the fact that the gas was cut off for a quite significant time, did the lights go off in Western Australia? No. Was there complete chaos? No. Were we able to manage with a 25 per cent reduction in energy input into the generation of electricity? Yes, we were. That answers the member’s question. The total energy input into the generation of electricity in Western Australia dropped by 25 per cent and the lights did not go off. Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
I feel pummelled by the questions! Oh dear, oh dear—we are going back to January now! I will first talk about the pipeline. The incident in January was unfortunate, but it was also very, very rare. The supply from the North West Shelf plant completely shut down. That has probably happened only twice or a few times during the life of its operations. Despite the fact that the gas was cut off for a quite significant time, did the lights go off in Western Australia? No. Was there complete chaos? No. Were we able to manage with a 25 per cent reduction in energy input into the generation of electricity? Yes, we were. That answers the member’s question. The total energy input into the generation of electricity in Western Australia dropped by 25 per cent and the lights did not go off. Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled to do it because you don’t have a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : It does not matter whether we have a plan. A series of contingencies are laid out by Western Power and the other utilities on what to do in emergency situations. They were all put into practice. As a result, did the lights go out? No, they did not. Were we able to cope with a huge reduction in the amount of energy coming into the system? Yes, we were. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Darling Range and member for Capel! Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You scrabbled. The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
The SPEAKER : Member for Capel, repeating something 30 times does not mean that you can keep doing it. I call you to order for the second time. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Why were we able to cope so well? The member for Capel might have missed this, but the pipeline has been expanded significantly over the past decade. The member is on the record as saying after the incident in January that we should transport liquefied natural gas to Kwinana on LNG ships, and that we should store LNG. Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You are misleading the house. Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : These were some of the comments made by members from the other side. Does the member for Capel have any idea of the cost of doing that? No, he has no idea, because if he did, he would not even raise it. The other thing that the member raised was the question of storage. Gas is already stored around the Dongara field. That was used as well. The member must remember this: who would pay for all the things that members opposite came out with after that incident? Who would pay for the gas that would be stored in the event of a once-in-25-years emergency? That stored gas would be worth billions of dollars, and someone would have to pay for it. The cost would eventually flow through to the consumer. Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Dr S.C. Thomas : You need a plan. Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : Is that the member’s plan? Is that official opposition policy? No, it is not. The member should think about this: there is storage in the pipeline itself. The pipeline is nearly double the size that it was years ago. Once stage 5C expansion is finished, nearly 80 per cent of the entire pipeline will have been duplicated. That is an awful lot of storage in the pipeline. That is how modern gas storage works. The member should stop recommending stupid things.
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