Power spike: Grid delays hit small business

Libby Mettam has slammed Western Power for slowing down housing developments following a blowout in the waiting time for grid connections.

Ms Mettam said power supply upgrades and connections to subdivisions and new homes were taking up to a year.

That’s up from 12 weeks previously, she said.

“These delays for developers translate directly into delays in providing houses for Western Australians who have their backs to the wall in the face of record low rental vacancy rates, soaring rents and house prices and diminishing public housing stocks,” Ms Mettam said.

A letter from developer Fabric Property to Planning Minister Rita Saffioti and Energy Minister Bill Johnston, obtained by Business News, raises concerns that design work for a power upgrade could take as much as 12 months.

Fabric said it was working on a commercial development in Mandurah, including a service station and showrooms.

Planning approvals were in place, with hopes for construction work to start in May and an October completion, the letter said.

Housing Industry Association executive director WA Michael McGowan said the industry was working with Western Power to find solutions and speed up delivery of upgrades and connections.

“HIA is aware that Western Power, like much of the industry, is facing labour and materials challenges that are affecting delivery of power infrastructure to developments and single residential homes,” he said.

A spokesperson for Western Power said the government enterprise had experienced sustained high volumes of new residential and land development applications in the past two years.

The network operator was suffering from resourcing challenges, which were affecting timeframes, they said.

“This is driven by an increase in market demand for construction and design services, as well as supply chain constraints,” the spokesperson said.

“Following various stimulus initiatives since FY2019-20, there has been an increase in applications from approximately 3,000 a year to over 7,000 a year.”

Hiring new staff and outsourcing work were some of the steps Western Power was taking to fix the challenges, the spokesperson said.

The enterprise was also engaging developers earlier and was locking in earlier contracts for materials, while it would prioritise work based on construction readiness.

About 21,500 houses are unfinished in Western Australia, Business News revealed last week, while the Reserve Bank of Australia has warned construction companies are at risk of further insolvencies.

The industry has faced skilled labour and materials shortages, while demand was also driven skyward by $1.1 billion of state and federal stimulus.