Western Power partly to blame for teens' shock
State-owned electricity distributor Western Power has admitted it is partly to blame for an incident in Mandurah in which a teenager was almost killed by a fallen light pole and another one was shocked.
Energy Minister Mike Nahan yesterday pre-empted an EnergySafety investigation into last month's incident by telling Parliament that Western Power's own internal inquiry had found it was partially responsible.
According to Dr Nahan, the utility had done the right thing by disconnecting the electricity supply to the pole in the suburb of Greenfield in October last year after it was hit by a car.
However, Dr Nahan said a "Western Power representative" appeared to have inadvertently re-energised the pole a few weeks later while trying to carry out electrical work in the area.
Tariq Rowles, 15, was almost killed last month after touching the pole while walking to school with friends.
One of those friends, 15-year-old Chevaunne Bussola, was also injured in the incident.
This afternoon Dr Nahan said Western Power's chief executive, Paul Italiano, had "expressed to me his deep regret and disappointment in Western Power's contribution to the incident".
"He has assured me that Western Power is speaking with the families in relation to the findings of Western Power's investigation," he said.
Despite the acknowledgment, Dr Nahan insisted Western Power did not have other similar problems in its vast network, which sprawls from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie to Albany.
He said Western Power had received about 90,000 priority customer calls in the past five years relating to streetlights and poles.
"Of this, about 900 of the calls relate to emergency incidents and hazards with 391 being similar to the initial accident in this matter, where a streetlight was hit and damaged by a vehicle," he said.
"Western Power has since inspected each of the 391 sites and confirms that all the assets in question are safe.
"It is clear from this incident that the overlap between private networks and assets and those operated by Western Power will need careful management."
