Release power blackout data: business

The NSW government must release regular data on the reliability of the state's
electricity supply after almost 10,000 power outages in the past 12 months, the NSW
Business Chamber says.

Documents obtained by the state opposition under freedom of information (FoI) laws
show residents and businesses were left without power for a combined total of 1.4
million minutes between June 2008 and May 2009.
One third of the 9,284 blackouts were caused by equipment failure, the documents
showed.
The figures come after a problem at a NSW Hunter Valley power station last week
affected supply in five Australian states and cut electricity to at least 200,000
customers.
Premier Nathan Rees insists NSW's electricity grid is "up to scratch" and runs at a
99.7 per cent reliability rate.
"I'm advised that's among the best, if not the best, in Australia," he told
reporters on Monday.
"On occasion there are blackouts.
"They are an inconvenience but on 60 per cent of occasions they are external
activities like a bobcat ... going through a pipe."
But the NSW Business Chamber wants Energy Minister Ian Macdonald to release
quarterly data on power reliability, including a regional analysis.
Chamber spokesman Stephen Cartwright said the NSW government was keeping "power
users in the dark" about the reliability data.
"The premier should ensure that this information is published quarterly on the NSW
government website," Mr Cartwright said in a statement.
"Business needs to see the data and, at the moment, it appears the power companies
are doing their best to hide from these performance issues."
Mr Cartwright said businesses understood blackouts would happen due to storms and
accidents.
However, it was also well known energy infrastructure had been run down in NSW and
the energy companies were playing catch-up, he said.
NSW customers are paying about 20 per cent more for electricity since July 1,
costing the average customer somewhere between $3.50 and $3.92 extra each week.
Opposition energy spokesman Duncan Gay said the NSW government had ripped a fortune
in dividends out of the state's energy utilities instead of reinvesting the money in
network upgrades and maintenance.
He said it was alarming that the figures were only for two of the three energy
retailers in NSW, EnergyAustralia and Integral Energy.
The number of power outages for Country Energy customers was not yet known, he said.
"I can't imagine the Country Energy figures will make this look any better," Mr Gay
told reporters.
"One of the reasons we did this FoI was because of concerns right across the state."
Mr Gay said in the current economic climate the last thing businesses needed was to
have to close their doors due to power outages.