It’s a quiet and leafy precinct in Perth’s southern suburbs — but this week Bull Creek is up in arms over who is responsible for thousands of dollars in damage to the area’s power supply.
A tree branch that fell on overhead power conductors in March has left garage doors, pool pumps, air-conditioning units and other appliances requiring phased power damaged and in some cases with motors “fried” beyond repair.
It’s also ignited debate in the community about who should pay as insurers for Western Power and the City of Melville deny liability claims.
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READ NOWBill Booth says his air-conditioning unit was rendered inoperable and is leading the charge of a long list of neighbours with damage bills for someone to be held accountable.
The Bull Creek local was affected by a “drop out fuse” when a gum tree branch hit power lines at the corner of Henry Bull Drive and Lochee Way on March 7, knocking out power to 59 households.
“My wife called me and said the oven’s roaring, there’s something wrong,” he said.
“I looked at the fridge and I’ve got one of those smart fridges with all the blue lights and it was flashing on and off.
“This is not a normal power outage, as it has affected many appliances in these homes requiring phased power.
“In my case, it was an evaporative air-conditioner.”
Mr Booth said both the City of Melville and Western Power denied his damage claims, leaving him to cop the couple of thousand dollars in repairs.
Gillian Dixon — a full-time carer to her 94-year-old father who lives with onset dementia — told PerthNow the motors associated with her dad’s air-conditioning units and garage door were “fried” from the incident and would need replacing.
“I have everything regularly maintained for my dad on an annual basis,” she said.
“Both (tradesmen) said to me that the motors were actually fried, including the safety switches.
“Our motors — I’ve got a quote, they’re going to be about $3000 and they’re only about two years old.”
Ms Dixon has been in contact with risk and insurance officers from the City of Melville and Western Power but said they had told her no one was claiming responsibility for the damage incurred to appliances running on phased power at her dad’s home.
She said her dad “wouldn’t cope” if she were not there to liaise with tradesmen.
Ms Dixon says it’s not just a question of who should pay for the damage. She says the tree never should have been planted so close to overhead power supply.
In a letter to the City of Melville, she said trees lining the impacted street were often close to overhead power.
“There are a number of houses that have tree branches amongst the power lines, with some very close,” she said.
“In a number of parks trees are still too close to power lines, with some branches perilously close to power lines.”
In an email sent to the City of Melville and seen by PerthNow, another resident said their damage bill was more than $800.
“I was at home and witnessed lights flashing and heard a bang,” they said.
“Damage occurred to the controller on the gas oven, the central processing unit on the computer, the compressor on an air-conditioner and two LED lights in the kitchen.”
Local John van den Berg said it cost $3650 to replace his air-conditioner after the power outage.
“We called out an air-conditioning contractor who found that the unit had a blown control board and might possibly have other things wrong with it,” he said.
Another local said they had been failed in their bid for compensation and a population of elderly residents were now worse off.
“(They have) left it to residents — many elderly — to fight for adequate compensation to simply have their property in the same working order as before the incident,” they said.
In emails seen by PerthNow, Western Power says compensation can be paid only for loss or damage if it is caused by negligence — and that no negligence was found during the March 7 incident.
The State Government-owned entity also said power was not always guaranteed in cases of “extenuating circumstances” impacting supply.
“In the circumstances, the safety device operated correctly and as designed,” they said.
“Some electrical appliances are very sensitive and have been known to fail following fluctuations in voltage, which is inevitable when supply is interrupted.
“The interference to Western Power’s electricity unexpected event was not within Western Power’s control or caused by Western Power’s actions.”
Similarly, emails from the City of Melville’s insurer LGISWA said negligence had to be established for the local government to be legally liable.
“You will appreciate that a tree or branch may sporadically fall without any external indication or forewarning,” they said in an email on April 4.
“As such, with respect to your claim, prior to the Incident, the City of Melville was unaware of any potential for this branch to fail.
“Furthermore, this tree is part of a routine inspection regime by Western Power. This area specifically had been inspected in February 2024 and the incident location was not listed as requiring works.”
City of Melville chief executive officer Gail Bowman this week confirmed to PerthNow the city’s stance.
“The city’s insurance provider LGIS has assessed the incident and determined the city was not negligent in our handling of the tree, as no pruning or other works were required on this tree prior to the incident occurring,” she said.
She recommended affected residents contact personal insurers to make a claim.
A Western Power spokesperson said crews repaired the damage on March 7 within three hours.
“Vegetation management around power lines is a shared responsibility, dependent on several factors including the location of the vegetation and the network assets,” they said.