WESTERN POWER —
SURGES
379. Hon TIM CLIFFORD to the minister representing the
Minister for Energy:
I refer to Western Power's ''Make
a Claim'' page on its website where customers can make a claim if they
believe their appliances have been damaged due to power surges.
(1) How many
claims have been made for the years 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18
and 2018–19?
(2) Please table
the causes that led to those claims?
(3) Please table
the causes of power surges and spikes, and what Western Power does to prevent
them?
(4) What were the
lowest and highest recorded voltages recorded on the south west interconnected
system for the years 2016–17, 2017–18 and 2018–19?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided by the
Minister for Energy.
(1) The answer to
question (1) is in tabular form. It lists the year, the number of claims
received each calendar year and the total number of claims. I seek leave to
have the response incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
The following material
was incorporated —
Year
|
No of claims received per
calendar year
|
2014
– 2015
|
4225
|
2015
– 2016
|
2682
|
2016
– 2017
|
2416
|
2017
– 2018
|
2356
|
2018
– 2019
|
1765
|
Total
|
13,444
|
(2) Claims arise from a number of events, including,
but not limited to, trees or overgrown vegetation clashing with powerlines; interference by wildlife, for
example birds, animals and termites; motor vehicles colliding with power
poles or assets; bushfires; vandalism; lightning storms; winds or windborne
debris; events caused by pollution; power interruptions for planned work;
emergency action by police, fire or emergency services; any third party
interference to the electricity system; and asset failures including surges.
(3)–(4) It
is not possible to provide the requested information in the time available. I therefore
request that the honourable member place these questions on notice.