The electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024

Introduction

The Committee on Environment and Planning is inquiring into the major electricity outages in the Far West region of New South Wales in October 2024. The Committee adopted the inquiry on Thursday 21 November 2024, following a referral from the Minister for Energy, The Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC.

On 17 October 2024, a storm severely impacted power supplies to Broken Hill and towns in the Far West of NSW, including Menindee, Silverton, Tibooburra, White Cliffs, and Wilcannia. In the period from 17 to 31 October 2024, impacted communities in the Far West experienced major electricity outages.

The Inquiry will consider the preparation and mitigation strategies in place by electricity providers in Far West NSW in the event of a major electricity outage, and other matters as outlined in the inquiry's terms of reference which can be accessed below. This includes the effectiveness of providers' communications strategies regarding electricity outages and responses.

Terms of reference

That the Committee on Environment and Planning inquire into and report on the major electricity outages and disruptions in the Far West region of New South Wales in October 2024, including:  

a.     the preparation and mitigation strategies in place by electricity providers in Far West NSW in the event of a major electricity outage,  

b.     the overall effectiveness of the preparation and mitigation strategies,  

c.     the role of relevant NSW Government agencies and local government in preparing for and responding to major electricity outages,  

d.     the implementation of recommendations from previous electricity outages in Far West NSW,  

e.     recommendations on future alternative power supply emergency response and effective redundancy,  

f.      the effectiveness of providers' communications strategies regarding electricity outages and responses, and  

g.     any other related matters.        

Timeline
DateMilestone
Mon 18 November 2024Referred
Mon 10 February 2025Submissions closed
Mon 03 March 2025Hearing - Menindee Civic Hall, 30 Yartla Street
Tue 04 March 2025Hearing - Albert Hall, 34 Briscoe Street
Wed 05 March 2025Hearing - White Cliffs Hotel, Keraro Road
Wed 05 March 2025Hearing - Wilcannia Community Hall, 78 Woore Street
Thu 06 March 2025Hearing - Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride St
Mon 17 March 2025Hearing - Preston Stanley Room, Parliament House, Sydney
Thu 05 June 2025FinalReport
Thu 05 June 2025FinalReport
Fri 05 December 2025Government Response to Final Report due
Fri 05 December 2025Government Response to Final Report
Submissions

Submissions to this inquiry closed on 10 Feb 2025.

View all submissions

Hearings and transcripts
DateVenue details
Mon 03 March 2025Menindee Civic Hall, 30 Yartla StreetView scheduleView transcript
Tue 04 March 2025Albert Hall, 34 Briscoe StreetView scheduleView transcript
Wed 05 March 2025White Cliffs Hotel, Keraro RoadView scheduleView transcript
Wed 05 March 2025Wilcannia Community Hall, 78 Woore StreetView scheduleView transcript
Thu 06 March 2025Broken Hill Civic Centre, 31 Chloride StView scheduleView transcript
Mon 17 March 2025Preston Stanley Room, Parliament House, SydneyView scheduleView transcript
Reports and government responses

NSW Government response to the NSW inquiry into the electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024

Tabled date:
Fri 05 December 2025
PDF348.12 KB

Report - The electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024 (June 2025)

Tabled date:
Thu 05 June 2025
DOCX764.42 KB

Report - The electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024 (June 2025)

Tabled date:
Thu 05 June 2025
Government response due:
Fri 05 December 2025
PDF9.22 MB
Other documents
DateTypeTitle
Thu 05 June 2025Media ReleaseReport tabled (pdf, 141.71 KB)
Tue 15 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsAustralian Energy Regulator - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 147.68 KB)
Wed 09 April 2025Additional InformationNSW Reconstruction Authority - Answers to questions in lieu of appearance (pdf, 182.51 KB)
Tue 08 April 2025Additional InformationNSW Department of Education - Answers to questions in lieu of appearance (pdf, 271.76 KB)
Mon 07 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsAboriginal Affairs NSW - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 254.84 KB)
Mon 07 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsMr Roy Butler MP - Answer to supplementary question (pdf, 72.26 KB)
Sat 05 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsDCCEEW - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 261.56 KB)
Fri 04 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsBarkandji Native Title Group Aboriginal Corporation - Answer to supplementary question (pdf, 105.48 KB)
Fri 04 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsBroken Hill Westhaven - Answer to supplementary question (pdf, 56.70 KB)
Fri 04 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsLiveBetter - Answer to supplementary question (pdf, 224.42 KB)
Fri 04 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsTilt Renewables - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 82.95 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsBusiness Far West - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 73.75 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsIndependent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal NSW (IPART) - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 1.51 MB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsMeals on Wheels Broken Hill - Answer to supplementary question (pdf, 107.80 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsMining and Energy Union - Answer to supplementary questions (pdf, 201.04 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsNSW Health - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 84.24 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsNSW Rural Fire Service - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 146.63 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsNSW Telco Authority - Answers to question on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 185.01 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Additional InformationTransport for NSW - Answers to questions in lieu of appearance (pdf, 329.19 KB)
Thu 03 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsBroken Hill City Council - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 118.16 KB)
Tue 01 April 2025Additional InformationNSW Department of Communities and Justice - Answers to questions in lieu of appearance (pdf, 337.12 KB)
Tue 01 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsNSW Police Force, Western Region Office - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 275.54 KB)
Tue 01 April 2025Additional InformationNSW State Emergency Service - Answers to questions in lieu of appearance (pdf, 400.79 KB)
Tue 01 April 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsService NSW - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary question (pdf, 150.99 KB)
Mon 31 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsTransgrid - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 616.70 KB)
Fri 28 March 2025Correspondence 28 March 2025 - Letter from Transgrid providing additional correspondence of transcript evidence and additional information (pdf, 252.32 KB)
Fri 28 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsAGL - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 172.52 KB)
Fri 28 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsClubsNSW - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 376.71 KB)
Fri 28 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsEssential Energy - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 4.21 MB)
Fri 28 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsHydrostor - Answer to supplementary questions (pdf, 97.59 KB)
Thu 27 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsLegal Aid NSW - Answers to question on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 320.79 KB)
Thu 27 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsTelstra - Answers to questions on notice and supplementary questions (pdf, 547.82 KB)
Wed 26 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsRegional Development Australia Far West - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 788.26 KB)
Tue 25 March 2025Answers to Questions on Notice Menindee Headquarters Brigade, NSW RFS - Answer to question on notice (pdf, 173.70 KB)
Tue 25 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsPerilya - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 57.21 KB)
Mon 24 March 2025Correspondence Broken Hill City Council - Letter of clarification regarding the transcript of evidence of 6 March 2025 (pdf, 2.59 MB)
Mon 17 March 2025Answers to Supplementary QuestionsCentral Darling Shire Council - Answers to supplementary questions (pdf, 62.90 KB)
Thu 13 March 2025OtherDCCEEW Spreadsheet detailing the outages for specific areas (pdf, 480.44 KB)
Thu 13 March 2025OtherDCCEEW Explanatory note explaining the Life Support program (pdf, 591.49 KB)
Wed 12 March 2025Additional InformationNSW Department of Education - Information for the inquiry into the electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024 (pdf, 146.10 KB)
Thu 06 March 2025Tendered DocumentEssential Energy Briefing - Broken Hill Gas Turbines (pdf, 539.96 KB)
Wed 19 February 2025Media ReleaseMedia Release - Inquiry into the electricity outages affecting Far West NSW in October 2024 - Travel to Far West NSW (pdf, 117.62 KB)
Wed 04 December 2024Media ReleaseMedia release - Inquiry into electricity outages - inquiry launch and call for submissions (pdf, 165.31 KB)
Contact us

Environment and Planning Committee

Email:
environmentplanning@parliament.nsw.gov.au

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