POWERCOR has not answered questions surrounding the cause of the St Patrick’s Day bushfires and its role in implementing recommendations after the Black Saturday fires.
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On Thursday morning a police source revealed all four blazes began as a result of electrical assets.
Police found the Hawkesdale fire started after a tree from a blue gum plantation fell onto the power lines.
The Terang fire occurred after power lines clashed and arced leading to molten metal falling to ground which sparked the blaze.
And the Camperdown fire started after a tree limb fell across power lines and brought them to ground.
The Standard asked Powercor a list of detailed questions. We also requested an interview with Powercor’s chief executive officer Tim Rourke, which was not addressed.
The questions included:
- Can you tell us if Powercor is aware of the specific locations of the four power poles/lines that have caused the fires?
- We want to know about the maintenance programs and the date of inspections that have been conducted on all power poles in the region and specifically on the two assets (the snapped power pole at Garvoc and the lines clashing at Terang) that are alleged to have sparked those two blazes?
- In relation to the two incidents where trees fell on lines, what work had been done to clear fire breaks or space around those lines and when? If not, what plans were in place to do this work and when?
- What guidelines or regulations are in place around minimum distances between commercial plantations and power lines?
- Can you detail in relation to the south-west region the actions you have taken to address the recommendations to reduce power line risk coming out of the Black Saturday Royal Commission:?
- In your response yesterday you said the The Sisters power pole had been inspected in November and was found to be in "good condition". Can you detail what the assessment of "good condition" means? How old was this pole? Why were metal supports placed around it? When were these supports installed? Was there a plan for the pole to be replaced? If so, when?
- In relation to the pole alleged to have started the Terang fire, can you please provide specific detail as to when it was inspected, what that inspection found, had it been patched up like the The Sisters pole, were there plans to replace it, and if so when?
- Were any of the two poles referred to above reclassified as serviceable and left standing?
- In relation to the cause of the other two fires and that they began after trees fell on those lines, where there plans to remove these lines and replace them with underground cables? If so, when?
- In relation to the blazes started by powerlines clashing and arcing leading to molten metal falling on the ground, what steps have you taken in line with the Bushfire Royal Commission recommendations around reclose functions and automatic circuit reclosers? If actions where not taken, where you planning to? And if so, when?
- Did you adjust the reclose function on the automatic circuit reclosers on all 22 kV feeders on Saturday, March 17, a day of total fire ban, as per the Black Saturday Royal Commission’s recommendations? If so, at what time did you do this? If not, why not?
- What resources are Powercor dedicating to assist with the ongoing investigations to the cause of the fires?
- What plans does Powercor have to improve power transmission infrastructure to ensure this never happens again?
Powercor responded with a six sentence response to the 13 questions, and did not answer each question individually.
A spokeswoman said the company was “fully cooperating with investigations”.
“While it’s clear that the pole in Garvoc did break, investigations may look at what role the extreme winds, reportedly over 100kmh, played in that event,” she said.
“In relation to two power lines that were impacted by vegetation, our investigations have shown that the trees were at a distance that were in line with regulations and that the trees appear to have failed due to the strong winds.
“It also appears conductors clashed in Terang, however investigations into why this occurred are still underway.
“We work closely with Energy Safe Victoria to ensure that our safety programs are meeting the state’s strict regulations.
“We have either implemented or are well underway in implementing all relevant recommendations from the Royal Commission.”
The Standard submitted a further question to Powercor, asking if the 100 km/h winds had an effect on any other power poles and if the poles cannot withstand winds over 100 km/h.
The Standard is awaiting a response.
Comment is also being sought from Energy Safe Victoria.