Western Power is continuing critical work in a number of areas in Katanning to upgrade the network.
The network upgrades will lead to improved reliability and less power outages for customers throughout the community. This work follows on from the upgrades that were completed on the network last year.
Western Power Operations Manager for Distribution Delivery, Brad Lacey, said they were working as quickly as possible to complete the work and sincerely appreciated the community’s patience during this time.
“This is the biggest upgrade to the Katanning network since its installation.
“Last year we replaced 61 poles in the area and another 173 are set to be replaced. Katanning has a number of old assets that have reached the end of their useful life and we will be working through to July to replace a number of assets.”
The upgrade project will involve a number of planned outages while work is done. Affected customers will be notified by letter as well as through advertisements in their local newspaper.
“Customers have been really understanding of this work as they can see the benefits for the town. We appreciate their patience as our teams work to deliver better reliability and higher road clearances for the community,” he said.
The poles will also be treated with fire retardant paint to help minimise the risk of damage to the network in the event of a fire.
Western Power will work to limit the number of customers affected by the planned outages, including providing generators to crucial businesses that will be impacted.