Welcome to Climate Change. I am not going to argue the causes of this phenomenon, because that will muddy the waters. All I know is that 2023 was the warmest year of record. We began our summer here in Heavenly Beverley in November after only six weeks of spring. With a few exceptions, the heat has been unrelenting.
We have had some intense summer storms and yesterday, another storm was forecast. The day was stifling, but we were coping, as long as the power remained on. We lost power around two o'clock yesterday afternoon. We were surprised that the storm, when it actually arrived about an hour an a half later, was quite moderate, with only a brief episode of showers, a few rumbles and very little wind.
The temperature dropped dramatically and the power restoration was estimated at around ten thirty last night. We were content with that forecast. We threw open the house, enjoyed a sultry evening outside, had a few glasses of vino, lit candles and waited for Western Power to flick the switch.
Then, the estimate for power restoration changed to midday today. Suddenly, the situation had altered. Michael and I both use CPAP devices for sleep apnoea. Michael's sleep apnoea is very severe. Mine is just severe. But I also have had increasing breathlessness since last October with a definitive diagnosis yet to be determined. I was frightened.
I rang Western power for clarification of our status. I still had internet at that time and noticed other areas with less customers were having their power restored before us. Why was this so?
The hapless call centre staffer tried hard to fob me off, There were hazards that needed to be repaired. Power lines down. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera...
Thirteen years ago, we moved to Heavenly Beverley. Three weeks later, a massive thunderstorm tore through the Wheatbelt, killed a young woman in Geraldton and destroyed the power grid. On that occasion, we lost power for five days. All the food in our fridge perished. We had no communication other than a landline and only procured a generator for the last two days.
Fast forward from January 2011 to January 2024. Has Western Power improved its practices, its responses, its ability to mobilise in a crisis. Infuriatingly, I think not...
Western Power is owned publicly. Mister Sam Barbaro is the current CEO. I have some questions for Mister Barbaro -
1.If power poles and lines keep falling over, there must be an inherent fault in their design. When is Western Power going to proactively improve these designs so they don't fall down?
2. When will work orders be actually undertaken in a timely manner? The Parkerville fire just before Christmas was caused by a tree falling across a powerline. Apparently, a work order for that issue had not been completed.
3. Are there enough maintenance crews available at any given time? If not, why not?
4. How is maintenance prioritised? Why were areas with fewer customers having their power restored before larger areas?
5. Are there enough regional maintenance workers to respond to these incidents? If not, why not?
6. Where is the required hardware and equipment stored in the case of an event such as yesterday's power failures? If these items are only stored in the metro area and limited regional centres, this is not adequate. When will this situation improve for country consumers?
7. It seems to me that Western Power only operates in a reactionary manner, rather than in a proactive way? Why will Western Power begin to act proactively, so these power outages can be dealt with smoothly and efficiently?
8. When will Western power provide clear communication on its pages or by its call centre staff, so customers actually understand the issues?
Without my CPAP device last night, I was breathless, uncomfortable and woke frequently feeling as if I was suffocating. Michael's sleep was severely disturbed by apnoea episodes. We were both shattered by day break.
We then lost mobile coverage and the internet. We are at a loss to understand this added calamity. We had no way of communicating with anyone whatsoever. Telstra, please explain,,,
The 12 noon restoration time came and went. We received notification that power would be restored after two o'clock. Almost immediately, we received another text from Western Power, alluding to another "fault" and an estimated restoration time of nine-thirty tonight.
Without any fanfare, our power was restored at about three-thirty. Too late for most of the perishables in the fridge. I have thrown out items that had obviously warmed above a safe temperature. Even with the fridge closed and the house shut up, a 40 degree C day (104 degrees F) still caused our internal temperature to rise to 35 degrees.
As far as my breathlessness was concerned, the power was restored in the nick of time, I was contemplating going to our local hospital as I felt so unwell. The only other venue that had functioning airconditioning today was the Shire office. I turned on the fans and the airconditioning and slept for nearly three hours with my CPAP machine working once more.
Western Power needs to improve its performance immediately. Not tomorrow, not next week or next month or next year. Those of all across the state who endured this extended outage should be banging on the door of the CEO. The Minister for Energy, Mister Reece Whitby, should be requesting urgent action by prevent any further debacles. I shall be writing to both of them.
In the meantime, I have submitted a claim to Western Power. If successful, I shall receive a piddly $120 off my next bill. I am not impressed.
Stay tuned!
Why do we always have to complain en-masse to see any improvements in so many organisations?
