1 November 2024

While the fallout from the Broken Hill critical transmission failure continues, further details have come to light of another privatised power network operator taking actions that have the potential to compromise the security and safety of the grid in metropolitan Sydney.

Ausgrid has recently reduced base and critical coverage levels in the Sydney North region. Under these changes, as few as 2 District Operators could be responsible for coordinating incident response efforts to blackouts, natural disasters, or accidents involving electrical infrastructure, down from 4 in most instances.

The Greens are calling for a public inquiry and broad based review of all NSW power network operators, their operation and corporate decision making practices.

Quotes attributable to Greens NSW Energy Spokesperson, Abigail Boyd:

“Hot on the heels of the catastrophic failure of preparedness and redundancy planning in Broken Hill, we’re now seeing another privatised power network operator cutting corners in pursuit of an even more generous profit margin.

“These two situations are just the ones that we know of. In light of this information, I’m calling for a public parliamentary inquiry that will include a broad based review of all NSW power networks, their operators and their corporate decision making and how that aligns with public expectations and needs for such a critical essential service like electricity.

“Ausgrid’s own internal risk assessment of these staffing changes identified that, even when all stated control measures are put in place, the risk of members of the public being exposed to electrical or fire hazards remained “high”. The only stated reasons for the proposed changes were the pursuit of ‘efficiency and productivity’. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about what’s going on here.

“I’ve written to the Minister for Energy, the Minister for Work Health and Safety and the Minister for Emergency Services to express my concern at this dangerous behaviour and request that they urgently investigate the situation.

“The simple fact is that the private owners of our power networks have put NSW local communities at risk through their continued and prolonged mismanagement of the grid to bolster their profit margins.

“We can’t allow another community to be left in the dark because of shonky or reckless behaviour by these privatised network operators.

Further information:

Ausgrid’s network, covering the eastern Sydney metropolitan region as well as the Central Coast, Newcastle, and parts of the Hunter Valley, is divided into districts with specially trained employees known as District Operators acting as first responders to all hazards including blackouts and natural disasters. Each district has a ‘critical coverage level’, which is deemed as the minimum staffing level typically needed to respond to urgent unplanned work, as well as a “base coverage level”, reflecting the minimum staffing level required to maintain emergency response times and complete planned work.

Under the proposed changes, as few as 2 District Operators could be responsible for coordinating incident response efforts to blackouts, natural disasters, or accidents involving electrical infrastructure.