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Horizon Power thanks the Esperance community for your patience as we work through the recent unplanned outages

September 08 2022

Between 4 August 2022 and 2 September 2022, we experienced three power outages in Esperance. 

  • 2 September 2022 – at approximately 6:30am, a 13-minute outage affected 8,411 customers. 
  • 31 August 2022, at approximately 3:00am, a 29-minute outage affected 8,365 customers. 
  • 4-5 August 2022 at approximately 11:15pm, a 56-minute outage affecting 5,826 customers. Again, at 1:40am, another 30-minute outage occurred. 

The Esperance Power Station has delivered a six month phase of operating reliability with a high level of renewable energy integration. We understand that recent outages have occurred because of wind intermittence and the arrangement of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) which is ordinarily used to compensate for power load fluctuations. 

Horizon Power has been working to increase the daily portion of renewable generation and reduce gas consumption. We have faced some early implementation challenges getting this balance right, and we acknowledge this has impacted some of our customers. 

Our local team has been addressing these integration challenges as a priority, and we are confident we have a clear action plan in place to ensure the reliability of power supply in Esperance. 

We are implementing a ‘reliability first’ operating model to reduce the potential for further network instability. This may include restricting wind generation overnight to stabilise the system. 

Further solutions are being considered, including a proposal for an additional large-scale battery to assist with step load response, and options to manage the rapid power deployment. Modelling is also being completed of the outage scenarios and other credible scenarios to improve future system settings. 

You can stay up to date with planned or unplanned outages by downloading the Horizon Power app or by visiting our faults and outages page.

If you do experience any interruption to your power supply, please call our faults line on 13 23 51.

More information

  • What are we doing to prevent future outages?

    We continue to work to strengthen our network in Esperance and we are addressing this immediately with a reliability first operating model. 

    The reliability first operating model will constrain the wind turbines overnight to stabilise the system until we are confident we have ongoing reliability.  We can use the power station battery energy storage system (BESS) for active power response (as the Gas turbines take two minutes to be ready once called).  This may include for a time restricting wind generation overnight to stabilise the system when the lower load means the system may be less stable. 

    Looking forward, we plan to install an additional BESS to assist with stabilising fluctuations between intermittent renewable energy sources. 

  • Where can I stay up-to-date with future planned and unplanned power outages?

    You can stay up to date by:

    If you do experience any interruption to your power supply, please call our faults line on 13 23 51. 

  • How can I prepare for any future outages?

    We aim to deliver a continuous power supply, but sometimes power outages happen because of circumstances beyond our control. To best prepare for future outages, we recommend you: 

    • Ensure you have an alternative phone to your cordless and NBN options, as these won’t operate without mains power 
    • Unplug any sensitive appliances such as computers and TVS, to reduce the risk of damage should power fluctuate when it is restored. We recommend ensuring these devices are regularly backed up to protect your data 
    • Adjust your fridge and freezer to the coldest setting and keep the door closed should the power go out 
    • Consider a backup battery or generator, particularly if you have a business that requires round-the-clock energy 

    Explore more tips to prepare for an outage.

Media enquiries  
Email: media@horizonpower.com.au
Phone: 1800 799 745

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Esperance Power Project

In 2022, we delivered a cleaner, renewable, more efficient power supply, aiming for a 50% reduction in community carbon emissions. 

Find out more

Horizon Power acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to the land, waters and community. We pay our respects to all members of the Aboriginal communities and their cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain images, names or voices of deceased people.