The Hon. Shane Love, Leader of The Nationals WA and Member for Mid-West, Media Release, 14 December 2025
The Nationals WA have called for urgent action after widespread power outages left more than 24,000 homes and businesses across the Mid West and Geraldton without electricity today, on a day where temperatures exceeded 35 degrees in parts of the region.
Member for Geraldton and Kirrilee Warr MLA said the outages once again highlighted a long-standing failure to provide reliable power to the region.
“Today’s outages are not an isolated incident — they are part of a pattern that regional communities have been dealing with for more than a decade,” Ms Warr said.
“Reliable electricity is a basic service, yet people in the Mid West and Geraldton are routinely left without power, often during extreme heat events that pose real risks to health and safety.”
“When a relatively common weather event like a thunderstorm can knock out power to tens of thousands of people, it’s clear the system is fragile and vulnerable.” Ms Warr said.
Leader of The Nationals WA and Member for Mid-West Shane Love said impacts were being felt acutely by small businesses, many of which rely on power to operate safely and viably.
“Small businesses are losing stock, losing customers and losing income,”
“For cafés, retailers, and pharmacies, every hour without power matters — and these outages undermine confidence in doing business in our region.”
Mr Love also expressed serious concern for vulnerable residents, including the sick, elderly and those reliant on powered medical equipment.
“People are left without air conditioning, refrigeration for medicines, or the ability to charge essential devices. These are risks no one should have to accept as ‘normal’.”
Mr Love said today’s outages reinforced the need for decisive action following the 2021 review into widespread power failures, conducted by Australian Energy Market Commissioner Michelle Shepherd.
“That review examined outages affecting around 107,000 Western Power customers across Perth, Peel, the South West and the Mid West over the Christmas period in 2021,” Mr Love said.
“Four years on, regional communities are still waiting to see meaningful improvements.”
The Nationals WA are calling on the Cook Labor Government to provide an immediate update on the status of recommendations from the 2021 review, and to outline what concrete actions have been taken, or are planned, to improve network resilience in regional areas.
“Regional Western Australians deserve the same level of reliability as the metro area,” Mr Love said.
“Enough reviews, enough excuses — it’s time for real investment and real outcomes to ensure the lights stay on in the Mid West and Geraldton.”
