Nym
Free Ranging
Sunday 15th of September 10.41a.m. Cold, windy and sunny. A very chilly nite. Moderate 25.9 / 50kph SSW, Hg 35%, 13.2C / 55.8F top of 16C / 61F. Possible shower. Windy. Hazardous surf. Marine wind warning. Sheep graziers alert. Severe weather: cold wind. Coastal erosion.
Moon is 86.7%
When a wave of strong cold fronts crossed Tasmania last month it left thousands of households without power.
Severe winds and flooding left a trail of damage, including fallen trees that had downed transmission lines.
In the storm's aftermath, state-owned electricity provider TasNetworks said it had sustained damage to more than 20 per cent of its network, with 150,000 customers experiencing outages at some stage.
Over two weeks, it meant many thousands of Tasmanians, mostly in the north and north-west, went days without heating, lighting, refrigeration and for some, access to tap water.
Many have expressed frustration at a lack of communication, and may be able to air their concerns, as an independent review into TasNetworks' handling of the emergency is called.
"Reading books by torchlight was what life was like, really," he said.
Mr Gardner said he received text messages from TasNetworks, but was told the power was back on when it wasn't, and given restoration times that didn't transpire.
"If you're given an expectation of when the power's coming back on, you start to plan for that, and then to have that taken away and wait close to another week it's pretty frustrating," he said.
"I think that communication is a problem because [TasNetworks] should know within a few days what part of the network is affected and where those faults are."
Further south in Notley Hills, Leigh Blazely's generator provided enough energy to run the television and one light while he waited two weeks for restoration.
While he couldn't fault workers who were "under the pump", he thought communication could have been more open.
"I've had one text from TasNetworks, and that was the first day of the outage, and apart from me ringing them every couple of days, [there was] nothing from them," he said.
Speaking to ABC Radio Hobart, Mr Garland said it was important the public had an opportunity to voice concerns.
"A lot of people were severely affected by this," he said.
"We were getting calls from people saying they couldn't get through to TasNetworks, didn't know what was going on, didn't know how long they were going to be without power.
"There were some real vulnerable people with medical conditions that relied on power being supplied to them to keep them on a level par, and so there was a lot of concern … about what was happening."
In light of industrial action, Mr Garland wants the review to look at staffing levels and pay parity for line workers.
TasNetworks has commended its crews for putting that aside during the event when it reached an agreement to temporarily suspend electrical workers' industrial action, and said bringing in extra contractors was normal in an emergency event.
Moon is 86.7%
When a wave of strong cold fronts crossed Tasmania last month it left thousands of households without power.
Severe winds and flooding left a trail of damage, including fallen trees that had downed transmission lines.
In the storm's aftermath, state-owned electricity provider TasNetworks said it had sustained damage to more than 20 per cent of its network, with 150,000 customers experiencing outages at some stage.
Over two weeks, it meant many thousands of Tasmanians, mostly in the north and north-west, went days without heating, lighting, refrigeration and for some, access to tap water.
Many have expressed frustration at a lack of communication, and may be able to air their concerns, as an independent review into TasNetworks' handling of the emergency is called.
Power restoration estimates inaccurate
In the state's north, John Gardner waited 11 days for power to return to his Loira propety, living off a generator and cooking on a gas stove for most of that time."Reading books by torchlight was what life was like, really," he said.
Mr Gardner said he received text messages from TasNetworks, but was told the power was back on when it wasn't, and given restoration times that didn't transpire.
"If you're given an expectation of when the power's coming back on, you start to plan for that, and then to have that taken away and wait close to another week it's pretty frustrating," he said.
"I think that communication is a problem because [TasNetworks] should know within a few days what part of the network is affected and where those faults are."
Further south in Notley Hills, Leigh Blazely's generator provided enough energy to run the television and one light while he waited two weeks for restoration.
While he couldn't fault workers who were "under the pump", he thought communication could have been more open.
"I've had one text from TasNetworks, and that was the first day of the outage, and apart from me ringing them every couple of days, [there was] nothing from them," he said.
Independent review coming
Independent MP Craig Garland, passed a motion in Tasmania's lower house this week — with support from Labor, the Greens, and independents — for a review into TasNetworks' response to major electricity outages.Speaking to ABC Radio Hobart, Mr Garland said it was important the public had an opportunity to voice concerns.
"A lot of people were severely affected by this," he said.
"We were getting calls from people saying they couldn't get through to TasNetworks, didn't know what was going on, didn't know how long they were going to be without power.
"There were some real vulnerable people with medical conditions that relied on power being supplied to them to keep them on a level par, and so there was a lot of concern … about what was happening."
In light of industrial action, Mr Garland wants the review to look at staffing levels and pay parity for line workers.
TasNetworks has commended its crews for putting that aside during the event when it reached an agreement to temporarily suspend electrical workers' industrial action, and said bringing in extra contractors was normal in an emergency event.
