Gnowangerup and Lake King are the focus of the next stage of Western Power’s Regional Connect Program aimed at exploring solutions to improve power reliability in regional areas. Community Drop In Sessions to explore the local opportunities commence today.
Acting Executive Manager of Asset Management Ben Bristow said the Regional Connect Program was developed to investigate reliability solutions for communities whose power supply was dependent on long feeder lines.
“Due to weather impacts, communities on these long feeder lines often experience more power outages,” he said.
“We understand the inconvenience frequent and prolonged outages cause regional communities and we’re keen to collaborate with them to identify and trial alternative solutions,” he said.
“The lines that feed Gnowangerup and Lake King are spread over a large area that is exposed to harsh environmental conditions.
“Providing alternative supply routes for power to these communities is limited. Locating faults on the long lines can also take time, leading to extended outages.”
Mr Bristow said the trial areas were selected to help test solutions that overcome these reliability challenges.
In 2024, Western Power hosted Community Drop-In Sessions in Lancelin, Northampton and the Shire of Irwin to gain feedback from those communities, which has resulted in new network enhancements in these areas including a back-up power solution for Lancelin.
“As each of the chosen trial areas face different challenges that impact power reliability, the approach will be different for each location,” Mr Bristow said.
“We’re looking forward to collaborating with the Gnowangerup and Lake King communities to deliver improvements to power reliability in those areas and we invite the community to join us at the upcoming Community Drop In Sessions.”
The Regional Connect Program is funded through an $88 million allocation by the Economic Regulation Authority WA to address rural long feeder reliability under Western Power’s Access Arrangement 5 (AA5).