The government imposed restrictions last week that cut electricity to tens of thousands of households and banned the use of a range of electrical appliances between 1pm and 7pm daily. Some childcare centres have been forced to transform their playrooms into cooling baths for children under five. Invalids living at home have had vital life support systems disrupted. The Office of the Chief Electrical Inspector enforces the power restrictions with a squad of 150 specially trained inspectors drafted from the five private electricity firms. The inspectors have the authority to enter properties, issue warnings and cut off electricity supply.
Householders ignoring the restrictions face hefty fines.
These developments further expose the claims that the privatisation of public utilities such as the Victorian electricity network would produce greater efficiency and cheaper more reliable supplies of energy and other services. Companies such as Yallourn Energy, whose central concern is the generation of profit, have continuously eliminated jobs and reduced vital maintenance programs to cut costs. The private owners have also failed to invest capital to upgrade or replace facilities. These factors have combined to produce a series of breakdowns, not only in Victoria. Serious power blackouts have developed in South Australia, Queensland and Auckland, New Zealand over the past two years, and Sydney's water supply was contaminated.