You've got kids screaming in the bathroom, pitch black, middle of winter.
In the rural reaches of Western Australia, a government utility's vision of a greener, more self-sufficient energy future has collided with the harder realities of unproven technology and absent consent. Nearly 500 standalone power systems — solar, battery, and diesel hybrids — were installed across regional properties beginning around 2016, promising reliability and savings to farmers already living at the edges of the grid. Instead, many of those families have spent years navigating darkness, noise, and indifference, raising an older question that new infrastructure rarely escapes: who bears the cost when progress is imposed rather than chosen?
- Families in remote WA are enduring years of power failures — children screaming in dark bathrooms, generators drowning out sleep — from systems Western Power promised would be an improvement.
- The utility installed 498 standalone units across regional properties without community consultation, and under state law can legally deny reconnection to the main grid even when systems fail.
- Some systems have been non-functional or severely degraded for years, with one farmer's broken solar panels forcing a diesel generator to run almost continuously even in full sunlight.
- Western Power's claim of 96% user satisfaction is being openly challenged by residents, local government leaders, and a growing record of complaints that contradict the utility's public narrative.
- Pressure is mounting on Western Power to either reconnect dissatisfied customers to the grid or urgently upgrade the failing systems it installed — but no clear resolution has been offered.
Ben Parsons was persuaded in 2022. Western Power came to his farm in Tenterden, 340 kilometres south of Perth, with a compelling offer: a standalone solar, battery, and diesel system that would be greener, more reliable, and cheaper than the aging grid connection serving his property. He accepted. Three or four outages a year seemed a reasonable trade.
It did not hold. One winter evening the power cut at seven o'clock while his children were in the bath. The house went dark. On other nights, the diesel backup runs so loudly his seven-year-old cannot sleep. When Parsons asked to be reconnected to the main grid, Western Power refused.
His experience is not unusual. Across rural WA, 498 standalone systems have been installed — 100 in the Shire of Cranbrook alone. Owen Grahame in South Newdegate received his system a decade ago. Five years in, faults accumulated. Broken solar panels now force his generator to run almost constantly, even in full sun. Western Power only recently contacted him about a replacement. Bernie Giles in Northern Ravensthorpe has faced overheating problems since installation, after an air conditioning circuit was removed from the original design to improve efficiency — a decision that left the system unable to manage its own heat. He has been promised an upgrade, but the years of malfunction point to something more fundamental: technology deployed before it was ready.
The manner of the rollout has deepened the grievance. Linda Gray, chief executive of the Shire of Cranbrook, described a call from an 85-year-old woman who was told by Western Power representatives that her power was being switched over — with no warning and no consultation. Under Western Australian law, the utility does not require a landowner's permission to make the change, and can seek a warrant if gates are locked. Residents continue to pay standard per-unit electricity rates despite receiving a service that has, for many, proven inferior to the grid it replaced.
Western Power maintains the program is succeeding, citing 96% satisfaction and acknowledging that early units required remediation as the company refined its understanding of customer needs. That figure sits uncomfortably against the lived reality of farmers who have endured years of outages and sleepless nights. Whether Western Power will reconnect dissatisfied customers or finally repair what it installed remains, for families like Parsons's, an open and pressing question.
Ben Parsons remembers the pitch clearly. Western Power came to his farm in Tenterden, about 340 kilometres south of Perth, in 2022 with a promise: a standalone power system—solar panels, battery, diesel backup generator—that would be greener, more reliable, and cheaper than the aging grid infrastructure that served his property. He was sold. Three or four outages a year seemed like a reasonable trade-off for something better.
It didn't work out that way. The system has been a source of frustration and, at times, genuine distress. One winter evening, the power cut out at seven o'clock. His children were in the bath. The house went dark. "You've got kids screaming in the bathroom," Parsons said. On other nights, the backup diesel generator runs so loudly that his seven-year-old can't sleep, asking his father what the noise is. When Parsons asked Western Power to reconnect him to the main grid, the utility refused.
He is not alone. Across rural Western Australia, 498 standalone power systems have been installed, with 100 of them in the Shire of Cranbrook alone. Many of the farmers and residents who received these systems say they have been plagued by outages and maintenance failures. Owen Grahame, who lives in South Newdegate, got his system installed a decade ago. About five years in, problems began. The generator now runs almost constantly because of broken solar panels and other faults. Western Power only recently contacted him about a replacement. "It starts up even in full sun every few days," Grahame said. "Something is clearly not right with it."
Bernie Giles, in Northern Ravensthorpe, has dealt with the same issue since his system was first installed. The equipment produces heat but cannot dissipate it properly. An air conditioning circuit was removed from the original design in an attempt to improve efficiency, leaving the system to overheat. Giles has now been promised an upgrade, but the years of malfunction speak to a deeper problem: Western Power rolled out technology that was not ready.
What makes the situation more troubling is how the systems were imposed. Linda Gray, the chief executive of the Shire of Cranbrook, described a phone call from an 85-year-old woman who had been told by Western Power representatives that her power was being cut off and a standalone system installed—with no prior warning or consultation. Under Western Australian legislation, Western Power does not need the landowner's permission to make the switch. "They told me that if you lock your gates so they can't go onto the property that they can get a warrant," Gray said. Residents still pay the same per-unit electricity rates as grid customers, despite receiving an inferior and unreliable service.
Western Power's public position is that the program is working. A spokesperson said the utility recognizes that some early units needed remediation and upgrades as the company learned more about customer needs. The utility claims that 96 percent of users are experiencing better reliability since installation. But that statistic sits uneasily against the lived experience of farmers who have endured years of outages, sleepless nights, and the stress of not knowing whether their power will hold. For families like Parsons's, the promise of a greener future has become a daily frustration, and the question of whether Western Power will reconnect them to the grid—or finally fix what it installed—remains unanswered.
Notable Quotes
We probably used to get three or four power outages a year and we thought it's going to be great, we'll have power all year round.— Ben Parsons, farmer in Tenterden
We recognise that some initial units required remediation and upgrades as we've learnt more about individual customer needs.— Western Power spokesperson
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did Western Power think standalone systems were better than the grid in the first place?
They saw aging infrastructure—old poles and wires that cost money to maintain. A distributed system of solar and battery meant they could avoid those costs and pitch it as environmentally friendly. It looked good on paper.
But the systems failed almost immediately for some people.
Not immediately, but yes, within a few years. The early models had design flaws—heat management issues, battery problems. Western Power was learning as it went, which is fine in a lab. It's not fine when you've already cut someone off the grid.
The 96 percent satisfaction figure—how do you square that with all these complaints?
You have to ask who they're measuring. Are they counting only people still on the systems? Are they measuring satisfaction with reliability, or with something else? The farmers with the loudest complaints are the ones who want off entirely.
What's the real cost here, beyond the inconvenience?
It's the loss of choice. These families didn't opt in. They were switched without consultation, still charged full rates, and then told they can't switch back. That's the thing that stings most.
Will this get fixed?
Some systems are being upgraded now. But the trust is broken. People were promised reliability and got the opposite. Even if the new systems work perfectly, that matters.