The utility is halfway through replacing 2362 wooden poles in the biggest network upgrade in the area since it was built.
‘This operation has been months in the planning and involved bringing together a massive workforce in response to community concerns about a higher than average number of outages,’ chief executive Paul Italiano said.
‘We are always conscious of the inconvenience to customers while we carry out essential network maintenance. Wherever possible, we try to carry out work on the network under live conditions.’
Mr Italiano said over the past two years, residents in the area had experienced a higher number of outages than the metropolitan average, and the upgrades were expected to improve reliability and reduce bushfire risk.
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READ NOW‘We were overwhelmed by the community support for this project,’ he said.
‘From home owners to small businesses and the local council, Western Power has been greeted with open arms.’
As of October 18, crews had replaced 1046 poles, and work is expected to be finished early next year.