Thursday, February 20, 2025
The plight of frustrated King Valley residents has been taken up by The Nationals’ Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, with urgent answers being demanded from the Minister for Energy and Resources in Parliament.
King Valley businesses and locals are suffering both personally and financially due to the plethora of unexplained outages; with some lasting in excess of 15 hours.
These outages, and the escalating frequency in which they are occurring, have the potential to cause disastrous outcomes, with already struggling businesses losing thousands of dollars every time their power is unexpectedly cut off.
Local residents are also feeling the pain, with many reliant on their electricity supply not only for comfort, but in some cases for medical conditions.
Speaking in Parliament Mr McCurdy said that he first started receiving distressed calls from families and businesses during the last few weeks.
“A member of the community has told me thirteen power outages have occurred over a one-week period, lasting from 2 hours to 16 hours,” Mr McCurdy said.
“People expect power shortages when a severe storm comes through, and we are all very reasonable and accepting when this occurs.
“Having thirteen outages in the King Valley when there is no inclement weather, and no apparent reason, gives people the feeling of a Third World country.
“Businesses have lost thousands of dollars in wine manufacturing and other food and fibre production.
“If Jacinta Allan and Lily D’Ambrosio cannot manage the current system, how can we possibly trust them to manage the transition to renewables?
"I do hope this is not what we can expect under the new SEC.”
Labor can’t manage electricity, and the King Valley is paying the price.