❓ Mr. Day questions the Minister about frequent power outages in Gidgegannup, Chidlow and Stoneville. Minister Logan acknowledges the issue, outlines ongoing upgrade work, a vegetation management program, and long-term plans to improve reliability, but doesn't provide a completion date.
AnsweredQoN 957Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY - RELIABILITY
I refer to the government’s failure to provide a reliable power supply to parts of the Perth metropolitan area. Does the minister want to tell me where? We could choose many, I am sure, but in this case I am referring in particular to the areas of Gidgegannup, Chidlow, Stoneville and surrounding areas. Given that in the past 12 months there have been at least 150 power outages in this area - that is one every second day - for how much longer must people in this neglected part of the state have their lives and businesses disrupted before the minister takes action to fix the problems? Mr F.M. LOGAN
I refer to the government’s failure to provide a reliable power supply to parts of the Perth metropolitan area. Does the minister want to tell me where? We could choose many, I am sure, but in this case I am referring in particular to the areas of Gidgegannup, Chidlow, Stoneville and surrounding areas. Given that in the past 12 months there have been at least 150 power outages in this area - that is one every second day - for how much longer must people in this neglected part of the state have their lives and businesses disrupted before the minister takes action to fix the problems? Mr F.M. LOGAN
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. It is good to see that he read the paper this morning and does his research. The member is referring to the Chidlow feeder. That has been recognised for some time by Western Power as a black spot and is part of the black spot program. Part of the money for the work on that feeder will come out of the $2.3 billion fund to which I referred earlier for the expansion and reinforcement of the transmission system in Western Australia. I can tell the member for Darling Range that I have been advised that work to upgrade the Chidlow feeder has already begun. The line has been inspected and work is under way to rectify problems identified. Anything identified as a safety hazard or anything that may cause a power outage was rectified immediately. Damaged equipment, such as cracked insulators and unsafe poles, was replaced, and any debris on overhead lines was removed. Most power outages in the region are caused by external forces hitting the line. That is primarily the case. Members may have noticed that on Sunday I announced a $130 million program for clearance of vegetation close to or within 2.5 metres of overhead lines. That is one of the major points of outages on all the transmission systems, particularly those in regional areas. Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr F.M. LOGAN replied: I thank the member for the question. It is good to see that he read the paper this morning and does his research. The member is referring to the Chidlow feeder. That has been recognised for some time by Western Power as a black spot and is part of the black spot program. Part of the money for the work on that feeder will come out of the $2.3 billion fund to which I referred earlier for the expansion and reinforcement of the transmission system in Western Australia. I can tell the member for Darling Range that I have been advised that work to upgrade the Chidlow feeder has already begun. The line has been inspected and work is under way to rectify problems identified. Anything identified as a safety hazard or anything that may cause a power outage was rectified immediately. Damaged equipment, such as cracked insulators and unsafe poles, was replaced, and any debris on overhead lines was removed. Most power outages in the region are caused by external forces hitting the line. That is primarily the case. Members may have noticed that on Sunday I announced a $130 million program for clearance of vegetation close to or within 2.5 metres of overhead lines. That is one of the major points of outages on all the transmission systems, particularly those in regional areas. Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
I thank the member for the question. It is good to see that he read the paper this morning and does his research. The member is referring to the Chidlow feeder. That has been recognised for some time by Western Power as a black spot and is part of the black spot program. Part of the money for the work on that feeder will come out of the $2.3 billion fund to which I referred earlier for the expansion and reinforcement of the transmission system in Western Australia. I can tell the member for Darling Range that I have been advised that work to upgrade the Chidlow feeder has already begun. The line has been inspected and work is under way to rectify problems identified. Anything identified as a safety hazard or anything that may cause a power outage was rectified immediately. Damaged equipment, such as cracked insulators and unsafe poles, was replaced, and any debris on overhead lines was removed. Most power outages in the region are caused by external forces hitting the line. That is primarily the case. Members may have noticed that on Sunday I announced a $130 million program for clearance of vegetation close to or within 2.5 metres of overhead lines. That is one of the major points of outages on all the transmission systems, particularly those in regional areas. Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr F.M. LOGAN replied: I thank the member for the question. It is good to see that he read the paper this morning and does his research. The member is referring to the Chidlow feeder. That has been recognised for some time by Western Power as a black spot and is part of the black spot program. Part of the money for the work on that feeder will come out of the $2.3 billion fund to which I referred earlier for the expansion and reinforcement of the transmission system in Western Australia. I can tell the member for Darling Range that I have been advised that work to upgrade the Chidlow feeder has already begun. The line has been inspected and work is under way to rectify problems identified. Anything identified as a safety hazard or anything that may cause a power outage was rectified immediately. Damaged equipment, such as cracked insulators and unsafe poles, was replaced, and any debris on overhead lines was removed. Most power outages in the region are caused by external forces hitting the line. That is primarily the case. Members may have noticed that on Sunday I announced a $130 million program for clearance of vegetation close to or within 2.5 metres of overhead lines. That is one of the major points of outages on all the transmission systems, particularly those in regional areas. Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
I thank the member for the question. It is good to see that he read the paper this morning and does his research. The member is referring to the Chidlow feeder. That has been recognised for some time by Western Power as a black spot and is part of the black spot program. Part of the money for the work on that feeder will come out of the $2.3 billion fund to which I referred earlier for the expansion and reinforcement of the transmission system in Western Australia. I can tell the member for Darling Range that I have been advised that work to upgrade the Chidlow feeder has already begun. The line has been inspected and work is under way to rectify problems identified. Anything identified as a safety hazard or anything that may cause a power outage was rectified immediately. Damaged equipment, such as cracked insulators and unsafe poles, was replaced, and any debris on overhead lines was removed. Most power outages in the region are caused by external forces hitting the line. That is primarily the case. Members may have noticed that on Sunday I announced a $130 million program for clearance of vegetation close to or within 2.5 metres of overhead lines. That is one of the major points of outages on all the transmission systems, particularly those in regional areas. Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr J.H.D. Day : When will the work be completed? Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
Mr F.M. LOGAN : The work is under way now and is part of the plan. I will go through it. The length of the feeder exacerbates the experience for the residents. This is a 300-kilometre-long feeder. It is the largest feeder of its type going out of the suburbs of Perth and into areas such as Gidgegannup. It is too long. It will be broken up into smaller sections to reduce the number of outages. I am advised that over the next 10 years Western Power will spend tens of millions of dollars in the area to improve reliability, which will involve reducing the length of the Chidlow feeder, as I have just pointed out, and improving the resistance of the line to interruptions by using, for example, aerial bundled cabling and Hendrix cabling. Given that the funding is available for that upgrade, that Western Power has identified that as part of the black spot program and that work is under way, I am sure that people in those smaller towns and suburbs leading up to Gidgegannup will see improvement, hopefully in the near future. Happy Christmas! The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
The SPEAKER : Question time is now finished. I think this place is catching. That was a very long question time.
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