Western Power is preparing the network for the upcoming summer season by finalising bushfire mitigation and maintenance programs, as well as undertaking upgrades to continue the safe and reliable delivery of power to the community.
Executive Manager of Asset Management Gair Landsborough said with the Bureau of Meteorology signalling an increased risk of heatwaves and bushfires this year, Western Power was ensuring the network was as prepared as possible for potential extreme weather conditions.
“We’ve continued to make significant investment in improving network resilience with about $1 billion spent each year on upgrading and maintaining our network to manage safety, reliability and environmental risks,” Mr Landsborough said.
“We have comprehensive poles and wires maintenance and bushfire mitigation programs which include insulator replacements, managing vegetation near wires, and insulator treatments via helicopter.
“We’re continually refining our operations to ensure we're improving the way assets are managed, including the 828,000 poles in the network.”
Over the last year, Western Power has completed a suite of projects focused on maintaining and transforming the distribution network.
“Last summer we saw significant and sustained demand on our network with January and February recording six of the 10 highest operational demand days in the history of the Wholesale Electricity Market, along with multiple consecutive days of in excess of 40 degrees and high minimum temperatures overnight.
“Despite this, we saw a significant reduction in fuse overload trips meaning fewer power outages when compared with the summer of 2021, even though we experienced similar record temperatures and higher demand.
“It was pleasing to see the results of the significant work we had done ensure improved reliability for the community.
“We build in resilience by taking steps to reduce the risk of faults on the network and by ensuring we have the resources to respond when there is an issue, including having emergency-response generators and high voltage injection units on standby.
“While 100 per cent reliability cannot be guaranteed and climate change is having an increasing impact on our operations, we’re finding new ways to minimise outages by bolstering the network where possible to maintain our 99.91 per cent reliability record.”