Release Date: 22 August 2006
A bird that built its nest with wire caused a power outage that left thousands of residents in the northern suburbs without power on Friday morning last week. Power was interrupted at approximately 10am after the wire nest caused a flashover at the North Beach substation.
The flashover cut power supplies to the major powerlines coming out of the substation affecting approximately 16,000 customers.
The suburbs worst affected include Hillarys, Padbury, Karrinyup, Duncraig, Sorrento, Greenwood, Carine, Gwelup, Trigg, Warwick and Marmion.
Western Power spokesperson Marisa Chapman said crews were able to restore power to all customers within two hours.
"As crews worked to repair the damage at the substation, other Western Power staff reconnected customers by diverting power from near-by substations.
"Reliability is a key focus for Western Power, and while we strive to reduce the instances of faults like these, some factors are beyond our control," Ms Chapman said.
If you have any questions regarding this media release please email us: media@westernpower.com.au
Page update on 25 August 2006
