The Electricity Networks Association welcomes the changes
made by the Fire Services Review and in particular the
repeal of the Forests and Rural Fires Act 1977 which often
placed unfair costs on our members.
Graeme Peters, chief
executive said: “This is good news for our members. The
biggest issue for power lines companies has been the
unfairness associated with the costs of fighting rural
fires, particularly when power lines have been
involved.
Mr Peters said it had become standard practice
to charge lines companies for the costs of putting out rural
fires where a power line may have been involved regardless
of how the fire started.
“In most cases rural fires
involving a power line start because of human error - a
landowner or contractor chopping down a tree and bringing
down a power line for instance - not because of a fault on
the lines. We asked for this unfair practice to be
addressed in the Review and we are glad the Government has
listened.”
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