Electrical hazards at three Pilbara homes as electricians fail to install safety component

Three Pilbara homes were left exposed to potentially fatal hazards for weeks after electricians failed to install essential safety devices while upgrading switchboards. Karratha electrical contractor Minbaringu Services Pty Ltd and electrical workers Zane Russell and Trent Tatham all pleaded guilty to breaching WA’s electricity licensing regulations following prosecution by Building and Energy. The company was fined $50,000 last month in Perth. The electricians were fined $10,000 each for offences that included incorrect certifications that their work was safe and compliant. Mr Russell and Mr Tatham were employed by Minbaringu in 2021 to upgrade switchboards at properties used by mining workers in Tom Price and Wickham. Electrical workers and designated electrical inspectors from Rio Tinto when inspecting the homes found a key safety component, the multiple earthed neutral connections, had not been installed in the switchboards. Without an MEN, protective devices such as circuit breakers and fuses may not operate if an electrical fault occurs which causes metal objects to become live with lethal voltage levels. Magistrate Thomas Hall in August said there was a risk of death or permanent injury from the very serious offences, which were made more significant by the work being incorrectly signed off as compliant. He said all parties had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and the company had shown remorse for their actions. “Minbaringu’s post-incident investigation was thorough and it had rectified its practices and cooperated fully with Building and Energy,” he said. The court was told that Minbaringu submitted official notices of completion for all three properties, which certified that the electrical installation work had been checked and tested for safety and compliance. If the company’s electricians had carried out the compulsory checks and tests, including reviewing photographs attached to the notice that clearly showed the fault, the MEN error would have been easy to see and fix. WA’s director of Energy Safety, Saj Abdoolakhan, said the cases should remind electricians why checks and tests of their work were mandatory. “There is simply no excuse for cutting corners with any area of electrical work when people’s lives can be at risk,” he said. “Electrical contractors must also drive a culture of compliance among their employees to ensure proper processes are followed at every job. In this case, the contractor also obviously failed to adequately review photographs of its electricians’ work before signing the notice. “Had these defects not been discovered by the designated electrical inspectors they could have led to serious injuries or death.”