The State Government has authorised the doubling of the extended outage payment to $160 for those affected by the long weekend power outages that began on Christmas Eve.
At its peak, approximately 34,000 households and businesses were without power on Boxing Day.
The four-day heatwave, where Perth recorded its hottest Christmas Day on record at almost 43 degrees, caused individual feeder failures and challenges to reconnecting the grid.
The high bushfire risk conditions exacerbated the situation, with Western Power repairs being delayed until it was safe for crews to carry out the required work.
Those whose home or business is connected to the Western Power grid and experienced an extended outage of 12 consecutive hours or more can apply for the extended outage payment at https://westernpower.com.au/faults-outages/make-a-claim/extended-outage
For up-to-date information on outages, visit http://www.westernpower.com.au/faults-outages
As stated by Energy Minister Bill Johnston:
"Around 20,000 Western Australian families and businesses lost power for more than 12 hours during the Christmas Eve to Boxing Day power outages.
"Some of the most impacted areas were Baldivis, Dawesville, Clarkson, Mindarie, South Yunderup, Roleystone, Kelmscott and Bouvard; the majority of these households had their power restored by Monday evening.
"We acknowledge the inconvenience and disappointment this caused over the Christmas period.
"An independent review into what happened during the long weekend power outages will commence in the coming months.
"Thank you to all the Western Power crews and network operations staff who worked during very hot conditions over Christmas to get people's power back online."
