Storm-related outage leads to full compensation for damage

A customer’s property was damaged when a tree touched power lines during a storm. The customer submitted a compensation claim to the distributor, but the claim was initially declined. The distributor said that the tree involved was the responsibility of the local government authority to maintain; however, the customer disputed this. The customer complained to us.

We investigated and established that the tree, being naturally occurring, was the responsibility of the distributor to maintain. We reviewed the distributor’s vegetation management practices and found that the trees in question had been identified as growing within the clearance zone in a high fire-risk area, but no priority had been placed on trimming it. Our investigation also noted that the distributor’s own guidelines required vegetation to be consistently maintained outside of minimum clearance distances, which had not occurred in this case.

The distributor paid the customer’s claim to resolve the complaint.

Did you know?...

Building and Energy, as the State’s energy industry technical and safety regulator, has developed guidelines for the management of vegetation near power lines.

It is the responsibility of the owner/occupier of a property next to a street verge with power lines to ensure that any vegetation in their property is kept well clear of power lines.

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