Firms slammed over WA issues
The WA Premier has criticised some of the state’s major energy suppliers.
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook has criticised Western Power and Synergy after a power outage left about 20,000 customers in the Goldfields and Wheatbelt regions without electricity for eight hours.
The blackout occurred when a new clean energy project in the Wheatbelt disrupted the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
The outage affected around 14,000 homes and businesses in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, a region already grappling with power supply issues.
Earlier this year, the city's backup power failed during a heatwave, prompting another major blackout.
During a visit to Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Cook expressed frustration at the utilities' lack of preparation.
“This is a complete own goal by Synergy and Western Power - they stuffed up, basically,” he said, noting that with one of the city's gas generators offline for maintenance, the new project should not have been introduced into the grid.
Cook has demanded a meeting with Western Power and Synergy, alongside the state’s Energy Minister, to address the situation.
He also mentioned a state government tender to bring 150 megawatts of new power generation to the region, though this solution will take time.
More details are accessible here.