Power Outages Reported Across Shire - Western Power Update, Saturday 25 January

Please find information below on the current power outages impacting parts of the Perth Metro area and the Midwest and Wheatbelt Regions. This information can be shared with the community.

We appreciate the inconvenience and frustration outages can cause, please be assured we are working as quickly as possible to safely restore power to customers.

Western Power crews are working to restore power to around 34,000 homes and businesses across the Perth Metropolitan area and Midwest and Wheatbelt regions. We are communicating with customers directly impacted via SMS.

The outages are a result of pole damage following light, drizzly weather overnight which can trigger pole top fires. Dozens of hazards are being reported in and outage numbers are expected to fluctuate through this morning.

All available crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to make hazards safe and are assessing poles for replacement. The priority is attending to any safety hazards before commencing any repairs and restoration. Following patrols to ensure it is safe to do so, our Network Operations team will work to isolate the areas with damage and backfeed power supply to customers. Where pole replacements are required, each pole change can take between 4-8 hours, depending on the type of pole, and unfortunately some customers may be without power until later in the day.

Customers who have experienced an outage for longer than 12 consecutive hours can apply for an extended outage payment via Extended Outages Payment once power is reconnected.

Pole top fires can occur during light drizzling rain or misty damp conditions when a combination of recent dust and pollution builds up to creates paths or ‘tracks’ on the insulators, enabling electricity to jump across. This tracking electricity can heat elements of the pole infrastructure to a point where they smoulder and burn.

Western Power’s network maintenance programs are constantly improving the way assets are managed, including the 860,000 poles in the network. We have a comprehensive poles and wires maintenance program and a preventative program which includes ‘de-energised’ siliconing and washing, insulator replacements, and managing trees and vegetation near wires, and high-pressure cleaning of insulators.

If you see a fallen power line or any other damage, please stay eight metres away and Make The Safe Call to Western Power on the emergency 24/7 number 13 13 51 so that emergency response crews can attend the hazard to make the area safe. Stay up to date by visiting our outage page at www.westernpower.com.au/faults-outages

For updates on bushfires and other weather warnings, please visit the Emergency WA website https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/