WESTERN POWER —
SOLAR FLARE EVENT
489. Hon JAMES HAYWARD to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Energy:
I refer to Western Power network
risk assessments.
(1) Does Western
Power have a plan to specifically address the risk to the network in the event
of a catastrophic solar flare event?
(2) If yes to (1), will the
minister table the assessment; and, if not, why not?
(3) If no to (1), why not?
(4) In the event of a catastrophic
solar flare event, how long would it take to restore the network?
Hon
MATTHEW SWINBOURN replied:
I thank the member for some notice
of question. On behalf of the minister representing the Minister for Energy, I provide
the following information provided to me by the Minister for Energy.
(1)–(4) Western
Power has contingency plans based on network impacts and risks. This means that
it is not necessary to distinguish between a distinct cause or scenario.
Western Power processes are designed to respond to contingencies in the safest
possible manner. The time required for any power restoration following any
outage varies depending on many factors, including residual impacts of the
outage cause, equipment damage and time
required for repairs, and electricity demand and supply throughout the network
at the time. During a contingency, these and
other network factors must be assessed in order for a technically
appropriate recovery plan to be devised.