- Electricity supply reconnected despite incorrect wiring and no compliance tag
- Residents and neighbours at risk of serious injury or death from ‘live’ objects
- Western Power has seven previous convictions for the same type of offence
Western Power has been fined $220,000 for the unsafe supply of electricity to a house in Wundowie, north-east of Perth, where two nearby residents received electric shocks and “the entire neighbourhood was at risk”, according to a magistrate.
At Perth Magistrates Court on 7 March 2025, the network operator pleaded guilty to two offences under WA’s electricity regulations following prosecution by Building and Energy.
The penalty is the largest fine against Western Power under laws that prohibit a network operator from supplying electricity to a premises without ensuring it is safe to do so. It follows seven prior convictions against Western Power for the same type of offence.
The court was told that in November 2022, two Western Power workers attended the Wundowie property where a private electrical contractor had installed a new consumer power pole. One Western Power worker noticed the newly installed meter had incorrect wiring – with the active and neutral conductors transposed – but did not take any action.
The transposed wiring enabled the electric current to bypass safety devices, putting the homeowners and neighbours at risk of electric shock if they touched metallic water pipes or earthed electrical appliances.
The court was told that shortly after the Western Power workers reconnected the electricity supply to the original property, two residents of a nearby home received electric shocks in their shower. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured.
Evidence presented in court also showed Western Power failed to follow a procedure that requires the electrical contractor to complete a temporary disconnection tag or notice of completion, which declares the electrical work has been checked and tested for safety and compliance.
This tag or notice must be provided to the network operator before it can connect the electricity supply, but this did not occur at the Wundowie premises. Although Western Power developed the procedure for using tags, it did not comply with its own process.
In addition to the $220,000 fine, Magistrate Catherine Crawford ordered Western Power to pay costs of $700, noting it was “only a matter of chance” that no serious injury or death resulted given the “extremely high” risk of harm and “the entire neighbourhood was at risk”.
Her Honour noted Western Power’s “relevant prior history for breaches of the same regulation”, but she acknowledged the utility’s early guilty plea and its updated procedures and processes since the incident.
WA’s Director of Energy Safety, Saj Abdoolakhan, said the significant fine clearly showed the seriousness of the offences.
“It is beyond belief that the network operator connected the electricity supply when there was an obvious hazard and no compliance notice,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.
“Someone could have paid the ultimate price for this serious breach, which clearly shows why electrical safety laws and requirements are in place. This situation was easily avoidable by following legislation and, in fact, Western Power’s own processes.
“This penalty should send a clear message to network operators about their community safety responsibilities.”
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Media contact: BEmedia@demirs.wa.gov.au
For reference: The two offences in this case relate to the Electricity Regulations 1947 –Regulations 242(1)(b) and 242(1)(c), which respectively state that a network operator must not supply electricity to any premises unless:
- the connection of the supply of electricity to the premises does not cause, or is unlikely to cause, any consumers’ electric installations to become unsafe; and
- any notice of completion in relation to that supply of electricity has been produced to the network operator.
