NSW Government planning to supply Ausgrid with more help
Gladys Berejiklian has defended the state government’s response to last weekend’s storms, saying it sprung into action as soon as it became aware that Ausgrid was struggling to reconnect homes amid the debris.
NSW
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Premier Gladys Berejiklian has defended the state government’s response to last weekend’s storms, saying it sprung into action as soon as it became aware that Ausgrid was struggling to reconnect homes amid the debris.
That is despite the fact it took a full day to send in an extra 100 emergency workers to storm-affected suburbs after the power company asked for military help, as 22,000 homes remain without electricity.
On Tuesday evening The Daily Telegraph revealed Ausgrid had asked the state government to back a request for the Army – which will not be progressed – but it was not until late on Wednesday the government announced it would send in extra personnel.
“I appreciate how frustrating it is for homes that are still without power but please note as soon as the government was made aware that Ausgrid was struggling we’ve made sure those extra people have gone in and we’re making sure that power is restored as soon as possible,” Ms Berejiklian said this morning.
She also hit back at suggestions the government’s response to the event had been a “disaster”, saying: “I completely disagree with that”.
“This is a one in 30 year event and what I’m pleased to say is that we had over 150,000 homes without power when the disaster struck, more than 120,000 or so homes have had power restored,” Ms Berejiklian added.
Some homes will enter their sixth day with no electricity on Thursday as authorities track the possibility of more rain and flooding from looming Cyclone Uesi which was barrelling through the Tasman Sea towards Lord Howe Island on Wednesday afternoon.
Tropical Cyclone Uesi was tracked at position -21.6,162.7 with 85mph S winds #Uesi #hurricane https://t.co/qXs3ImPQeU pic.twitter.com/NgzuS5CfqD
— My Hurricane Tracker (@HurricaneiOS) February 11, 2020
The Bureau of Meteorology said the cyclone had whipped up a low pressure trough near Byron Bay and surrounds – which could result in more flash flooding for the region.
The extra clean-up workers will join 600 SES workers already on the ground — but there are a total of 9500 available if needed.
TROPICAL CYCLONE WATCH LORD HOWE ISLAND: Tropical Cyclone Uesi expected to weaken to a tropical low & pass west of Lord Howe Island. Gales with gusts to 120km/h forecast to develop Thursday afternoon/evening. Warning: https://t.co/YhuNF2lypD NSW SES info: https://t.co/VbWsQKFKxc pic.twitter.com/sguyyYFWYA
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) February 11, 2020
The decision to send more NSW staff instead of progressing the request for the army was reached after talks between Mr Kean and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott.
In a statement, an Ausgrid spokesman said “the more help we can get with this enormous task, the sooner our customers can get their power back”.
“We’re not worried what level of government the help comes from, any help available for tree removal will be welcomed,” he said.
But with the Bureau of Meteorology ramping up its flood warnings for parts of northern NSW and Sydney facing another storm threat, the decision not to involve the ADF could change in coming days.
As thousands of residents across the state remain in the dark, those on the Central Coast are bracing for “disastrous” flooding with more rain and large swells forecast for the region.
The battered area has been declared a state of natural disaster after recent storms and flash flooding.
In Chittaway Bay dozens of residents on Wednesday had to use canoes, kayaks and wave-skis to traverse the streets, which have disappeared under a metre of water.
And at a Central Coast Council meeting on Wednesday night hundreds of locals vented their frustration and demanded urgent action on the state of Tuggerah Lake and its silted-up channel, which has been blamed for much of the flooding.
The council opened a second passage to the ocean to the north of the existing channel on Wednesday to help reduce flood waters.
Just hours later it was lashed by ratepayers as “a bloody joke” as it voted to look at previous studies on Tuggerah Lakes and The Entrance Channel regarding a breakwall and dredging program.
Councillors also voted against fining Ben Webber, who was hailed a local hero for taking his excavator on to the beach at North Entrance during Sunday’s torrential rain to help locals dig a channel to release flood waters.
The safety of the public is our number one priority. Crews are working to make safe 2,400 hazards - like this snapped pole in Neutral Bay. There are wires down in many places - please do not approach them, always assume fallen powerlines are live and stay at least 8metres away. pic.twitter.com/LEr1eatXNA
— Ausgrid (@Ausgrid) February 11, 2020
Ausgrid has come under fire from unions over claims of staff cuts after the NSW government sold half the electricity asset.
But in December Ausgrid said its employee ranks remained above the 3570 benchmark set by the NSW government when it put job guarantee legislation in place.
In Hornsby Heights, Marc and Dominique Middlecote have been “camping out” with their children Luc and Layla since losing power on Sunday.
Mr Middlecote said that Ausgrid hadn’t told the family anything about when power would be restored.
“It would be nice if they’d let us know what’s happening,” he said.
“We don’t know when it’ll come back on.”
Ms Middlecote said that the area suffered outages “every time there’s a storm.”
Originally published as NSW Government planning to supply Ausgrid with more help
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