City of Subiaco signs up for more underground power

23/06/04

The City of Subiaco is the latest local authority to sign up for the next round of the $58million State underground power program.
Energy Minister Eric Ripper said 10 major undergrounding projects would be undertaken around the State over the next three years, including more than 1,100 households in Shenton Park.
Mr Ripper said undergrounding of power lines was an important way of upgrading line capacity and reliability and avoiding power outages caused by trees, storms and overload.
The Government's goal was to see underground power delivered to half of Perth households by 2010, with a similar proportion in the regions.
The Minister today joined City of Subiaco Mayor Tony Costa to sign an agreement that would deliver underground power to Shenton Park, with work starting next month.
More than $2.6million would be committed by the State to the project, which had a total cost of $5.3million.
"Every year, Western Power deals with 5,300 fault calls in the metropolitan area, 87 per cent of which are related to the vulnerability of overhead wires," Mr Ripper said.
"This program seeks to address that problem so customers don't suffer the inconvenience of power outages."
The scheme is half-funded by the State Government and Western Power, with the other half met by local authorities.
Work finished earlier this year to deliver underground power to 1,746 lots in Subiaco, Daglish and Jolimont at a cost of $7.8million.
Subiaco Mayor Tony Costa said he was pleased that the work in Shenton Park would build on the program started by the city 25 years ago.
"With the completion of round three, some 85 per cent of the City of Subiaco will have underground power," Mayor Costa said.
"The city looks forward to submitting an application for round four next year, which it expects will enable completion of underground power throughout the city."
Mayor Costa also said underground power in the city provided additional benefits such as opportunities for streetscape improvements by removing the visual impact and street tree constraints that powerlines impose. The city was unique in delivering underground power at no direct cost to ratepayers, as it funded its program through loans.
Minister's office: 9222 8788