More than 12,000km of powerlines and poles were damaged in the wild weather, cutting power to 530,000 homes and businesses at one point. A review of the biggest power blackout in Victoria’s history has six months to hand down its final recommendations. The review of the operational response of transmission and distribution businesses was ordered last week after destructive storms swept across the state on Feb. 13. The Victorian government on Feb. 27 announced its appointments to the expert panel, their full terms of reference, and reporting timeline.
Former Energy Consumers Australia chief executive Rosemary Sinclair, a veteran of more than 20 years in the corporate and government sectors, will chair the panel. Other members include former Consumer Action Law Centre chief executive Gerard Brody and Kevin Kehl, a former electrical engineer and executive leader at Powerlink Queensland and Energex. The panel has detailed operational knowledge of electricity distribution and transmission businesses, said Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.
Under its terms of reference, the review will probe companies’ restoration priorities, effectiveness of control room operations to respond to the event, and availability and number of field crews. It will also assess systems used to communicate with customers and external authorities, including SMS, call centers, and outage trackers. Input will also be sought from the Australian Energy Market Operator, Australian Energy Regulator, Energy Safe Victoria, Essential Services Commission, and other regulators. An interim report will be delivered to Ms. D’Ambrosio in June and a final report in August. Another expert panel review was set up into Victoria’s devastating storms in June and October of 2021, which together resulted in 823,000 customers losing power.