Power upgrades begin to show results

as posted on Media-Newswire.com

Major infrastructure upgrades in Armadale, Gosnells and Byford have significantly improved power supply reliability in the area, Energy Minister Francis Logan said today. New figures released by Western Power indicate that power outages, especially those caused by equipment failure, had dramatically reduced since April this year.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Major infrastructure upgrades in Armadale, Gosnells and Byford have significantly improved power supply reliability in the area, Energy Minister Francis Logan said today.

New figures released by Western Power indicate that power outages, especially those caused by equipment failure, had dramatically reduced since April this year.

Mr Logan said significant upgrades had occurred in the region between December last year and April this year. These included: upgrades to the Byford network which involved extending a new feeder line from the substation to the Armadale shopping centre, reinforcing and reconfiguring major overhead power lines in the northern half of the network and some extensive underground cable installations; constructing and commissioning a new $10 million zone substation at Southern River; and completion of the first stage of a comprehensive $2.9 million upgrade of the Gosnells distribution network. This involved upgrading 15km of overhead conductors, installing 25km of underground cable and installing new automatic reclosers.

The Minister said this work had helped to improve power reliability by reducing equipment failure faults and, as a result of shortened feeders, reducing the number of customers impacted by faults.

"Faults caused by equipment failure have been a major cause of outages in the region for a long time," he said.

"Western Power recognised this and millions of dollars have been allocated to upgrade and improve this equipment - and the results appear to have been instantaneous.

"More work is still being undertaken and more work is planned.

"Power interruptions from vegetation or debris contacting lines or from car accidents knocking down poles are always a risk for overhead networks, but this work will certainly reduce the number of outages."

Mr Logan today visited the Byford substation where $3.77million is being spent on a new transformer and two additional powerlines to Armadale and Gosnells.

Armadale MLA Alannah MacTiernan welcomed the upgrades, saying reliability of power supplies had been a major problem in the South East Corridor for decades.

"This investment is bringing big improvements for local businesses and for residents," Ms MacTiernan said.

Western Power managing director Doug Aberle said the improvements represented a significant investment in the reliability of supply for customers.

"The improvement we have made here in Byford represents a significant reinforcement of the network and will improve reliability for our customers in Armadale and Gosnells," Mr Aberle said.

"Further work has also been scheduled for 2009 and 2010, including the replacement and undergrounding of overhead lines in other parts of the region."

Minister's office: 9222 8950

as posted on Media-Newswire.com