Western Power has accelerated significant network improvements in the Peel region ahead of the summer, Energy Minister Bill Johnston announced.
Twelve work programs have been expedited, including a rushed renovation to the Mandurah substation, with the goal of enhancing reliability for the region’s households and businesses.
Minister Johnston said no energy network in the world could guarantee 100 per cent reliability as failures occur as part of normal functioning.
“Following last summer’s heatwave — and in line with recommendations from the independent review into the Christmas power outages — Western Power has worked hard to mitigate risks, and accelerated works prior to this summer season,” Minister Johnston stated.
Minister Johnston added that with continued climate change, it is critical that Western Australia’s (WA) critical infrastructure can endure extreme weather events, and Western Power is working to guarantee that Western Australians have safe, cheap, and dependable power today and in the future.
A new high-voltage circuit (feeder), extra interconnections, and six new automated switchgears will help with network reconfiguration as needed to speed up power restoration. These modifications will greatly improve network dependability by decreasing feeder issues caused by overuse and increasing network capacity to meet expected future consumer demand.
The better switching capabilities and increased flexibility between circuits will also be made possible by the new high-voltage circuit, interconnections, and automated switchgear, enabling Western Power’s network control team to identify issues and reroute electricity when it is safe to do so.
Network switching involves shifting power from one circuit to another, basically rerouting the flow of energy in a manner much to traffic management that sends vehicles down an alternate route when a road is backed up.
If a failure occurs, these works will help to shorten response times and bring homes and businesses back online faster.
Mandurah MLA David Templeman said the WA Government‘s investment would improve electricity dependability for Mandurah families and businesses during summer.
“These fast-tracked works highlight the Government’s commitment to the Peel region and to ensuring improved response times when faults do occur,” Templeman stated.
According to Dawesville MLA Lisa Munday, these projects demonstrate that the McGowan Government has once again responded to the needs of residents and businesses in the Dawesville area.
“While no electricity system is immune to faults and outages, these critical, fast-tracked works by Western Power will shore up the reliability of the local network,” Munday added.
