Tuesday, 18 February 2025

 Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (14:55): (982) My question is to the Minister for Energy and Resources, and I seek an urgent response to the power shortages in the King Valley. I ask the minister: when can King Valley residents and businesses expect consistent power supply? I first started receiving distressed calls from families and businesses during the last sitting week, on Thursday 6 February. Bernie Wood from the King Valley has told me 13 power outages have occurred over the last week, lasting from 2 hours to 16 hours. People expect power shortages when a severe storm comes through, and we are all very reasonable and accepting when this occurs. But having 13 outages in the King Valley when there is no inclement weather or no apparent reason gives people the feeling of being in a Third World country, and we need some answers. Businesses have lost thousands of dollars in wine manufacturing and other food and fibre production. I do hope this is not what we can expect under the new SEC. We need some answers urgently.