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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 489 asked in the Legislative Council on 19 May 2022 by Hon James Hayward

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

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.