Broken Hill blackout: Network operator knew its back-up was out of action, but didn’t tell anyone

A massive power outage that had serious health and financial implications was bound to happen, a report has found.

Severe thunderstorms brought down transmission towers connecting outback towns to the national electricity grid in October, leaving 20,000 far western NSW locals with only intermittent electricity for six days.

A report tabled in state parliament this week found network operator Transgrid knew one of its backup generators was offline before the storms but did not notify any relevant body despite the looming threat.

Recommendations included establishing ‘microgrids’ in some areas and forcing Transgrid to report offline generators. 

Local MP Roy Butler said there was a “high likelihood” the government would implement the recommendations.

“Changing the law so Transgrid would have an obligation to report on their generator not working is a good move – everyone would have liked to know what was going on,” he told AAP.

“I don’t say it to be punny or funny, but the big issue here was powerlessness. 

“The people affected had no way to change the situation, they didn’t know what was going on, people really struggled with the uncertainty and it caused a lot of fear and anxiety.”

Multiple agencies, including the Australian Energy Regulator, are investigating if Transgrid breached its licence conditions during the outage, with a multi-million dollar fine possible if proven.

The state parliamentary report, released on Thursday, found Transgrid’s interim redundancy arrangements relied on the operation of its two diesel-fuelled gas turbine generators.

The failure to meet the community’s reasonable expectations for performance had consequences for the emergency response and the community’s preparedness for the outages, it said.

The affected area was particularly vulnerable as it receives electricity from a single transmission line.

A number of Telstra’s transmission towers were also taken out, while fuel supplies also ran low.

“So, no power, no phones, no internet and no fuel. And no idea that one of the diesel-fuelled gas turbine generators was unavailable,” inquiry chair and Labor MP Clayton Barr wrote in the report.

Transgrid’s generator in Broken Hill was unavailable after a major issue was identified when undergoing maintenance months earlier.

A spokesman for the firm said it was committed to improving communications and building a more resilient power supply since the outage.

That included with key government agencies, state-owned distributor Essential Energy and the public about the status of the region’s large backup generators.

The outage had serious health implications for some.

Residents told the committee they had struggled with things such as charging electric wheelchairs and medical alert bracelets not working, while one man had difficulty using his home dialysis machine.

Others lost significant amounts of medications that needed to be stored in a fridge.

Energy Minister Penny Sharpe thanked communities in the far west for participating in the inquiry and said the government will consider the report’s recommendations.

“We know the impacts on the community were significant, and this should never have happened,” she said.

AAP