❓ Mr Rundle questions the Minister for Energy about extending the gas contract in Esperance due to a significant number of households and businesses not yet transitioned. The Minister details the government's actions and expresses satisfaction with the transition process, highlighting local contractor involvement and addressing concerns about remaining businesses.
AnsweredQoN 41Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GAS SUPPLY — ESPERANCE
41. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the impending 31 March
deadline for Esperance households to transition off the redundant reticulated gas network in Esperance. Given 35 per cent of
households and 85 per cent of businesses are yet to transition off the
previous gas network in Esperance, will the government extend the gas contract
until all households and businesses are fully connected?
41. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to the impending 31 March
deadline for Esperance households to transition off the redundant reticulated gas network in Esperance. Given 35 per cent of
households and 85 per cent of businesses are yet to transition off the
previous gas network in Esperance, will the government extend the gas contract
until all households and businesses are fully connected?
AnswerView source ↗
Thanks for the question, member. I invited
you to have a discussion yesterday, because I wanted to give you a detailed briefing, but you did not come back and
talk to me, so, unfortunately, you were not able to get the briefing I offered
to you yesterday. But I am sure we can arrange one for you.
Mr P.J. Rundle : It was late
this morning, minister.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : I just want
to make it clear that I am not criticising you for not taking the briefing; I am
just making sure that everybody is aware that I had offered you a briefing on
this issue.
I remind people about what happened
here. The government of Western Australia has never provided natural gas to any
residential customer anywhere in Western Australia since the sale of Alinta by
the National Party back in the 1990s. When
it was privatised, we stopped supplying natural gas. There has been no natural
gas supplied to any customer in Esperance by the government of Western Australia.
However, a private company that was doing that work decided to shut that down
and gave us no proper notice. We negotiated with that company, and gave it a very
large amount of money to keep the gas network going until 31 March. At the same
time, we allocated resources to Horizon
Power to work with those customers to transition away from gas to electricity.
A small number of customers chose not
to electrify their house, and they have gone on to other arrangements, because
that is their choice. A small number of residential customers have
specific requests for a type of equipment that is not yet available who
understand that from 31 March they will have to make their own arrangements
until that equipment is available. For example, they will cook on a barbecue
until the specific electric equipment that they have asked for is available.
That is a supply chain issue beyond the control of Horizon. It is only because
those particular customers have specific requests that Horizon is accommodating
them.
All residential customers have been
accommodated. Of course, some work is still being completed, but it is
February. I want to congratulate the local Esperance contractors who have been
doing the work of uninstalling the gas and
installing the electric equipment, and the local Esperance suppliers that have
been selling the new equipment to Horizon Power. We made sure that
Horizon used local contractors and local equipment suppliers. I understand that
a couple of suppliers and installers have had to come from elsewhere for
specific very specialised equipment that some individual residents have chosen.
With
respect to business customers, all business customers except for two have
arrangements in place. Two specific businesses
do not—Horizon Power has made a number of approaches over the last 12
months to those two businesses . Indeed, the chief executive officer of
Horizon Power has personally reached out to those two businesses to assist them
to make a decision on what they will do.
So
far as I am advised, and why I was so keen to give the member a detailed
briefing on this issue, we are very pleased with the way this has gone. I know a particular journalist with the ABC
down there has been promoting stories about trouble, but actually
Horizon Power has done an exemplary job in keeping in touch with the individual
consumers who have been impacted by this and a great job keeping in touch with
the installers—the local Esperance-based contractors—and the
local government. Unless the member can tell me about a specific issue that I am
not advised of, I am not quite sure whether he was asking me a Dorothy Dixer or
driving at some negative outcome.
you to have a discussion yesterday, because I wanted to give you a detailed briefing, but you did not come back and
talk to me, so, unfortunately, you were not able to get the briefing I offered
to you yesterday. But I am sure we can arrange one for you.
Mr P.J. Rundle : It was late
this morning, minister.
Mr W.J. JOHNSTON : I just want
to make it clear that I am not criticising you for not taking the briefing; I am
just making sure that everybody is aware that I had offered you a briefing on
this issue.
I remind people about what happened
here. The government of Western Australia has never provided natural gas to any
residential customer anywhere in Western Australia since the sale of Alinta by
the National Party back in the 1990s. When
it was privatised, we stopped supplying natural gas. There has been no natural
gas supplied to any customer in Esperance by the government of Western Australia.
However, a private company that was doing that work decided to shut that down
and gave us no proper notice. We negotiated with that company, and gave it a very
large amount of money to keep the gas network going until 31 March. At the same
time, we allocated resources to Horizon
Power to work with those customers to transition away from gas to electricity.
A small number of customers chose not
to electrify their house, and they have gone on to other arrangements, because
that is their choice. A small number of residential customers have
specific requests for a type of equipment that is not yet available who
understand that from 31 March they will have to make their own arrangements
until that equipment is available. For example, they will cook on a barbecue
until the specific electric equipment that they have asked for is available.
That is a supply chain issue beyond the control of Horizon. It is only because
those particular customers have specific requests that Horizon is accommodating
them.
All residential customers have been
accommodated. Of course, some work is still being completed, but it is
February. I want to congratulate the local Esperance contractors who have been
doing the work of uninstalling the gas and
installing the electric equipment, and the local Esperance suppliers that have
been selling the new equipment to Horizon Power. We made sure that
Horizon used local contractors and local equipment suppliers. I understand that
a couple of suppliers and installers have had to come from elsewhere for
specific very specialised equipment that some individual residents have chosen.
With
respect to business customers, all business customers except for two have
arrangements in place. Two specific businesses
do not—Horizon Power has made a number of approaches over the last 12
months to those two businesses . Indeed, the chief executive officer of
Horizon Power has personally reached out to those two businesses to assist them
to make a decision on what they will do.
So
far as I am advised, and why I was so keen to give the member a detailed
briefing on this issue, we are very pleased with the way this has gone. I know a particular journalist with the ABC
down there has been promoting stories about trouble, but actually
Horizon Power has done an exemplary job in keeping in touch with the individual
consumers who have been impacted by this and a great job keeping in touch with
the installers—the local Esperance-based contractors—and the
local government. Unless the member can tell me about a specific issue that I am
not advised of, I am not quite sure whether he was asking me a Dorothy Dixer or
driving at some negative outcome.
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