Mass power outages plunge thousands across WA into darkness on long weekend

Thousands of customers across Western Australia were without power across the long weekend, as power poles caught fire due to extreme weather conditions, with many still waiting for the issue to be resolved.

On Friday, Western Power issued a statement that dozens of pole-top fires had affected supply to 38,000 homes and businesses throughout Perth, the Mid West and Wheatbelt regions.

Premier Roger Cook said 130 poles caught fire over the long weekend.Credit: 9 News Perth

On Tuesday morning, there were still “elevated fault levels across the network” that resulted in extended outages, with the priority being making hazards safe before power could be restored.

The outages included over 1000 customers in Gwelup, Stirling and Balcatta and 845 customers around the Lancelin area.

As the mercury is predicted to soar to 37 degrees in some areas without power on Tuesday, residents are worried and frustrated at the delays.

Steve Beckwith operates West Hills Farm in Nilgen, north of Gingin Shire, and said multiple major farms including his own and one owned by Tony Gilardi had been left without power for more than three days.

With no way to operate their groundwater irrigation system and no way to keep fresh produce stored in a coolroom, Beckwith estimated the loss could be in the millions.

“It has put us up to six months behind,” he said.

“The loss of just one power pole has crippled major farms and little surrounding communities. Out here we are always the last to get the problem fixed, it’s odious.”

He said crews were working to resolve the problem and was hopeful it would be sorted by Tuesday afternoon, but that improved maintenance and scouting programs were needed in the winter months, “rather than waiting until the poles burn.”

“I don’t see them doing any maintenance out here ever,” Beckwith said.

Beckwith’s farm has suffered without power.Credit: Steve Beckwith

The state’s Nationals have jumped at the chance to criticise the power network and the “systematic failure” of the Labor government ahead of the looming election.

Party Leader Shane Love said the scale of the problem was “undeniable” with tens of thousands of homes left without power or mobile phone access.

“Both DFES and Western Power have been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the fires and outages, exposing the government’s lack of preparedness,” he said.

“The neglect has caused widespread economic and social hardship. Businesses have been forced to close their doors, farmers have had fresh produce destroyed, and families – including the elderly and unwell – are struggling in stifling conditions.”

Opposition spokesman for energy Steve Thomas said he believed extended outages would become more common, with the current maintenance plan failing to ensure safe and reliable power distribution.

He used the outages as a way to sell gas and coal-fired power.

“On February 18 WA hit its peak in demand at 4233 megawatts. Our fossil fuel generation was producing 90 per cent of the power the state needed to keep the lights on when the heat was on,” he said.

“The current plan to transition to renewable energy is underfunded and impossible to deliver on the current timeframes, and the maintenance program for Western Power’s distribution infrastructure is obviously failing to keep up.”

Premier Roger Cook hit back at the criticism, stating the fires were a result of weather conditions and dust build up.

“We had demand of around about 4500 megawatts, the biggest in the state’s history, and the system coped, and it coped well when it came to generation,” he said.

“What that says is that the investments we’re making, particularly around big batteries as we start to look towards renewable energy taking a bigger slice of our overall energy mix, are playing a vital role in building the resilience and the capacity of the system.”

Speaking to Radio 6PR, Western Power asset operations executive manager Zane Christmas said there had been six bushfires that had impacted the network on Friday, followed by rain that sparked the pole fires across the metropolitan area.

On Saturday, the weather conditions moved north, sparking more fires.

“We’ll spend close to a billion dollars a year on maintenance and capital programs to make sure our network is as reliable as we can possibly get it and so this is a disappointing outcome when you think about all that,” Christmas said.

“That weather’s just really difficult for us to manage.”

He said a fair criticism they had been given was over inaccurate restoration times, but said he believed most would be back online by Wednesday.

Anyone affected by outages longer than 12 hours can apply for the extended outages payment scheme.

A 36-year-old man was charged over allegedly starting a scrub fire on Burlong Road and another in bushland opposite Davey Court in Northam on Friday, which caused some of the power outages.

Get alerts on significant breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.