Homes and businesses in Cunderdin and Meckering will soon benefit from improved power reliability and enhanced network resilience with Western Power investing $5 million in upgrades to the local network.
“Western Power is committed to improving power reliability for the communities of Cunderdin and Meckering and we’re making a substantial investment in upgrading infrastructure,” Western Power Executive Manager of Asset Operations, Zane Christmas, said.
Perth based company, Genus Infrastructure, will deliver a package of work later this month. It will be split into various stages to minimise the effect on homes and businesses, particularly during harvest season.
“We’ll be replacing 293 poles, 47km of overhead power lines, installing LED streetlights, upgrading reclosers, and carrying out other essential maintenance concentrated within the area,” Mr Christmas said.
“The new reclosers will improve our ability to monitor and switch electricity around, assisting with the capability to isolate damaged parts of the network so that, in the event of an outage, we can reduce the number of people impacted and restore connections more quickly.”
“Additionally, sections of overhead wires will be removed and replaced with underground cables which are less susceptible to environmental factors and have a prolonged lifespan, further improving power reliability and maintaining high standards of safety.”
“We’re working closely with the Shire of Cunderdin to minimise the impact of this work by avoiding planned outages in the peak of summer and during harvest.
“Residents may experience some short-term power interruptions while upgrades are underway, but these works are intended to bring long-term improvements to the reliability of power supply to the town,” he said.
Customers will be notified a minimum of three business days prior (but typically up to 9 business days) to an outage that interrupts power supply.
“It’s our goal to get the job done safely and efficiently while minimising any impact to residents and businesses and we’re confident the community will be pleased with the improvement of power quality and reliability as a result of these upgrades.”