Underground power

WA’s electrical network including the Perth CBD, was originally constructed overhead, but over time new technology has allowed us to move the network in high density areas to underground.

When did this all start?

In 1991 the State Government made a change that saw the network for all new urban subdivisions be placed underground. Following major storms and outages in 1996, the idea of moving existing overhead networks underground heightened, and the  State Underground Power Program (SUPP) was established.

Today, there are three programs running to change the overhead network to underground power:

Network Renewal Undergrounding Program Pilot (NRUPP) – these are driven by us and target areas with a high density of aging overhead assets.

State Underground Power Program (SUPP) – the cost of undergrounding is shared between the State Government, Western Power, Local Government Authorities (LGAs) and property owners.

Retrospective Undergrounding Projects (RUP) – these are generally funded directly by LGAs or land developers.

More homes and businesses in the Town of Cambridge now have improved power reliability and enhanced streetscapes due to the conversion from overhead to underground power.